


Life's Little Surprises

by JS Jamesbrooke (Jaywriter)



Series: Life Series [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-08
Updated: 2013-11-23
Packaged: 2017-12-31 21:18:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 84,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1036508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaywriter/pseuds/JS%20Jamesbrooke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life is full of surprises and Buffy's life is about to change in ways she never expected. Fuffy goodness</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue (Mar 2000/Dec 00)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm adding all my work to this site. This story is already completed but I'm not sure how quickly I'll get the whole thing up.

**Prologue**

Pacing back and forth in her cell, Faith couldn’t seem to expel her nervousness.  Angel had promised he was going to try and come visit her today.  She had something to tell him, something she needed his help with, but she wasn’t sure how he was going to take the news.

How could she have gotten herself into this predicament?  Nothing like this had ever happened to her, she’d never even come close amazingly enough.  Instead it had to be now, after waking from an eight month long coma and then landing herself in prison.  It was insane is what it was.

Where was he already?  It was driving her insane.  The sooner they got this worked out the better she’d feel.  Until then she couldn’t stop herself from pacing.  She didn’t know what she’d do if there was some big emergency he had to take care of and he couldn’t come today.

The jump suit she was forced to wear began to feel stifling as her anxiousness intensified.  Her breathing was becoming labored and she was fighting to control it.  Plopping herself down onto her military style bunk, she tried to calm herself.  She’d never had a panic attack before, but was sure this is what one felt like.

A guard came to her cell just as she began to feel more like herself.  “Lehane, you’ve got a visitor.”  Oh thank god.  He was finally here.

As she made her way down the corridor behind the guard several cat calls were made.  By now the news of her predicament had made its way around the prison.  Wasn’t surprising since all the girls really had to do around here was gossip, but still it was kind of annoying.  No one needed to be in her business, especially when it came to this.

Reaching the visitor area couldn’t come quick enough.  She breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she saw the souled vampire on the other side of the thick plated window.  The phone connecting her to the only real friend she had, was in her hand before she even sat down.

“Angel, thank you for coming so quickly.”

He nodded his head as if to say, “of course,” before letting himself speak.  “It’s always good to see you Faith.  Now what is the big emergency?”

It was now or never, “I’m in a real mess Angel, I need your help.”

**6 Months Later…**

The day had been long and exhausting but Buffy was almost finished with all her Christmas shopping.  The day had been emotionally straining as well.  Riley’s departure a few days ago had left her feeling out of sorts.  She knew she wasn’t as upset as she should have been, but it was still bugging her.

Trying to forget about the whole thing, she had spent the whole day at the mall trying to find presents for her friends and her mom and Dawn.  It was so weird to think that this was the first time she had bought anything for the younger girl.  Stupid monks and their bright ideas, screwing with her mind.

A change in her life was coming again, she could feel it.  She just didn’t know what it was.  There had been a low hum to her slayer connection with Faith the last few months and she wondered if it had something to do with that, but she couldn’t think of what it would be since last she heard the girl was still safely tucked away behind bars where she should be.

She wanted to feel smug about that and hate the other girl, but she just couldn’t.  Not after the talk she’d had with Angel a few months ago.  She always knew the brunette was troubled, she just didn’t know how tortured a past the girl had.  It really made her step back and look at both their actions when everything went down with the Mayor.

She wasn’t ready to forgive her yet, but she was trying.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she realized she had almost passed right by her house.  Walking up the steps she was surprised when her mom yanked the door open before she could even attempt to with all the bags she was carrying.  “Thanks mom.  Wasn’t sure how I was gonna get that open with everything.”

“Buffy is there anything you’d like to tell me?” Joyce Summers asked as nicely as she could.  She wasn’t sure what was going on, but the ‘delivery’ that came for her daughter was a shock and surprise to her.

Not knowing what her mom was getting at, she treaded carefully. “I said thanks, I think?”  Just as she finished her sentence she swore she heard a small whimper coming from the other room.  “What was that?”

“Follow me,” Joyce told her daughter as she began heading back into the kitchen.  Sitting on top of the bar was a baby in a car seat.

“Where did…?” Buffy trailed off unsure of what was going on.

Sighing “I’m not sure, I heard a knock on the backdoor about twenty minutes ago and when I went to check she was just sitting there, nobody else was around.  An envelope with your name on it was taped to the handle of the seat.”

Approaching the baby carefully as if it was going to attack, Buffy moved to stand in front of her.  The baby seemed to smile at her in a familiar way, and her eyes looked like somebody’s she knew, she just couldn’t place whose.  She had just a bit of dark, curly hair.

She was dressed in plain pink onesie and purple shorts, and the car seat was pink as well so she was sure her mom was right about it being a girl.  Either that or whoever dressed the baby was a cruel bastard if it was a boy.

“Oh, she’s so cute,” Buffy exclaimed, reaching out to run her hand down the baby’s chubby little cheek.

Joyce smiled at her daughter’s interaction with the baby.  She always knew Buffy would make a great mom if she ever made it to that point in her life, but with the Slaying she was never sure if she would have the chance.  “Maybe you should see what’s in the envelope.”

“Oh right.  Might explain where this cutie came from,” she responded, not taking her eyes off the baby for a second.  To say she was enamored was a gross understatement.  She fell in love as soon as the baby smiled at her.

Ripping down the side, she pulled out the letter closed within and began to read.

_Hey B,_

_I know this is going to be quite a shock that I’m doing this but I didn’t know who else to turn to.  This is my daughter, her name is Nevaeh Lehane.  Nevaeh is Heaven spelled backwards and she’s the closest thing I’ve ever felt to that so it seemed fitting.  I knew there was no way I was going to get to keep her since I’m stuck prison but I couldn’t see her thrown into the foster care system so I had Angel pull some strings for me.  I’ve been in the system and it is not some place I want my daughter, not after what happened to me with some of the families I was with._

_I sent her to you because you’re the only one that can keep her safe.  I know we’ve had bad blood between us, but don’t take that out on my daughter please, she’s innocent.  What I’m really asking is not just to take care of her, but to care for her as if she’s your own.  I’m going to be in here a long time and I need to know she’s safe.  I’ll understand if there’s still too much between us for you not too, but I’m going to ask anyway._

_The only thing I do ask is that you never let her forget me.  She’s the best thing I’ve got in this world.  You can spin it anyway you want, just let her know that there is someone out there who loves her with everything she’s got._

_Faith_

Speechless, Buffy turned to her mother with her mouth hanging open.  She wasn’t even sure what to think now.  No wonder the baby’s eyes looked so familiar.  They were identical to Faith’s.

“Buffy, what did the letter say?” Joyce asked slowly, unsure of her daughter’s reaction.  Instead of answering, the blonde simply handed the letter over for her mother to read.  “Well this is certainly a surprise,” she exclaimed after she finished reading.

“That’s an understatement.  Why would Faith do this?  We practically hate each other.  Why would she give me her baby?  I can’t believe she had a baby in the first place, I can’t even imagine a pregnant Faith.  I bet she was cranky the whole time.  So not the point I guess.”

“I don’t know Buffy.  Maybe this is her way of trying to make it right.  She’s trusting you with something so important to her.  That’s a big deal for someone of her background who doesn’t trust easily.”

Buffy sighed knowing her mother was right.  This was a big deal to Faith.  But she wasn’t even quite twenty years old yet, too young to care for a baby, especially Faith’s child.  She didn’t know what she was going to do now.  Maybe her mom could take her, I mean she was already a mom.  She could just be big sis.  Yeah, that sounded good.

Seeing her daughter’s mind work overtime, Joyce feared where her daughter’s thoughts were going.  “So what are you going to do Buffy?” she asked already figuring what her daughter would say next.

“Well I was thinking, I’m really too young to have a baby, I mean I’m in college…or at least trying to be.  So what if you take her and I’ll just help you out when I can?”

Shaking her head no, the older woman spoke determinedly to her daughter to make sure there was no room for argument.  “While I’m glad you didn’t just say hand her over to the foster care system despite Faith’s wishes, this is not an option either.  She didn’t ask me to take her, she asked you.  You are the one she has trusted with this.  I’ll help you where I can, but this is all on you.”

Defeated she knew her mother was right, and when the baby began to cry, Buffy pulled her out of the car seat without a moment’s hesitation and held her close to her shoulder.  She was so tiny, and she smelled so good.

“She’s probably hungry.  Grab the bottle and formula out of the diaper bag and I’ll help you make a bottle.  After you feed her, I suggest you call Giles and the gang and let them know what’s going on.”

Doing as her mother asked, she rocked the baby back and forth trying to keep her calm while concentrating on what her mother was doing.  Once the bottle was filled, she moved into the living room to get comfortable on the couch while she fed the little girl.  Smiling down at the baby, she knew her life was never going to be the same again.


	2. Chapter 1- New Mom (Dec 00/ Jan 01)

**Chapter 1**

A cry startled Buffy out of a peaceful sleep.  She flew up into a sitting position ready for a fight, surely something bad was about to go down.  It took her a minute to realize there weren’t any demons in the house.  She looked at the clock to see it was 2:27 in the morning before turning her head to the cradle and the crying baby inside. 

Lucky for them, Joyce Summers never threw anything away.  The cradle had been saved up in the attic for all these years.  The crib and changing table her parents bought when she was born as well as everything else was in a storage unit for the gallery.  They’d decided to wait until morning to go pull it all out and bring it back to the house.

Reaching over she pulled the little girl into her lap holding her against her chest.  “Mom warned me this would happen.  I foolishly believed you’d be different than most babies and let me sleep.  That was silly thinking now wasn’t it.”  She smiled happily at the baby, kissing her on the forehead.  “Let’s go downstairs and fix you a bottle before you wake Mom and Dawn up.”  The baby had quieted down as Buffy talked to her, and studied her in the dim light before letting off another whimper.

As she waited for the bottle to heat up, she thought about how her first day of being thrust into parenthood had gone.  So far Nevaeh seemed like an angel, only crying when she was hungry or needed her diaper changed.  Although she was only three days old according to the real Angel, so only time would tell.

She had called the vampire first, grilling him about what he was thinking putting this baby in her care.  The two had discussed the situation in more depth and she understood a little bit better now why Faith thought to leave her child with her supposed enemy.  She found it hard to believe that the dark slayer could love anything as much as she said she loved her child, but it made sense too.

Once the formula was hot enough for the little one she made her way back upstairs and into her room.  She changed her diaper as quickly as she could seeing as how it was still a new concept to her before making them both comfortable on the bed so the baby could eat.  Only then did she let her thoughts turn back to the day before.

It wasn’t until after she talked to Angel that she called the gang over, she wanted to have as much information as possible before she told them.  They all took the news a lot better than she thought they would.  Giles did voice his fears that it would interfere with her slaying.  She just reassured him that they’d work it out somehow.

_“After talking to Angel, I just couldn’t see turning her over to foster care.  Not after what little he told me about when Faith was in the system.”  She let that sink in before continuing, “Plus she’s the daughter of a slayer, what if something came after her?  I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her because I failed to protect her.”_

_“Your quite right Buffy, she belongs here with us,” Giles agreed._

_“Can I hold her?” Willow jumped in, not able to hold it in any longer.  She had been itching to hold her since she saw that chubby little face._

_Buffy handed her over hesitantly.  It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her best friend with the baby.  She had just become so attached to the little cherub already and she couldn’t see letting her go just yet.  “Awe what cutie.  There’s no way we’d let anything happen to this little sweetheart huh baby?” Willow asked the infant as if she’s honestly respond back.  Even if she could talk at that point, she was sound asleep and had no idea what was going on._

_“Wh…wh…what are you going to do about school?” Tara stuttered, indicating she wasn’t sure about asking the question._

_Buffy just shrugged, “I haven’t really been going since Mom’s been sick anyway.  I got to live the normal college life for a year, that’s more than most slayers get.  Angel said that he’d help some with her expenses and Faith has a job in the prison, she doesn’t make much since I guess they don’t even have to pay them minimum wage but she’ll send what she can.”_

_“That’s good that she still wants to help out right?  She didn’t just shrug off all responsibility and leave it to you,” Willow commented._

_“Yeah, it’s good.  Guess I’ll look into getting a job too, to help cover the difference, I can’t expect Mom to do it all, especially since I’m not going to school anymore.  Guess I’ll just have to figure out what to do with her while I’m working.”_

_Giles was pretty amazed by how mature Buffy seemed to be taking all this.  She sure had matured these last few months with Joyce being sick.  “Well I’m impressed Buffy, you seem to have a handle on things.  We could always use some more help at the Magic Box if you’d like, if only until you can find something else if you wish.  We could also keep an eye on her there from time to time.  Shouldn’t be too hard to find a place to set up one of those play things.”_

_Buffy looked up at her pseudo father figure, “Thanks Giles.”_

_Having stayed quite through the entire time, unsure what to say Xander couldn’t hold it in anymore.  “Can I hold her next?” he bounced excitedly._

Unfortunately Dawn didn’t have as good a reaction as everyone else.  In fact she was quite against the whole thing.  Although Buffy wasn’t sure how much was because the baby was Faith’s, and how much was because it meant she wouldn’t be the baby in the house anymore.

So lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice Nevaeh had finished the bottle and fell back asleep.  Having gotten the quick parenting guide from her mother, she knew the baby needed to burp though.  Gently lifting her to her shoulder, she hoped she could accomplish the task without disturbing her slumber.

To her surprise the baby let out a loud belch without even blinking her eyes.  “Definitely Faith’s daughter,” she muttered quietly.  Too tired to get back up, Buffy slide herself back down in bed so that she was lying on her side with the baby cradled next to her chest.  A few deep breaths later and she was back to sleep.

\--

Buffy was utterly exhausted as she plopped down into the passenger seat of her mother’s jeep for the last time that day.  In the car seat buckled in behind her she knew Nevaeh was sound asleep, wore out herself from their outing. 

Joyce had decided they needed to go out shopping, so she had taken them from store to store to store for the last several hours without even really buying anything.  She insisted though that they needed more things for the baby.  She wasn’t sure why though since Vaeh, as Buffy had come to call her, had been with them for just about a month now and they had taken several trips to the store in that time.

She loved shopping so that wasn’t the reason for her partially grumpy mood.  In fact she loved picking things out for the baby she was slowly starting to think of as her own, especially the clothes.  Faith would hate to see just how girly her daughter was in Buffy’s hands.  No the current reason for her mood was, all this shopping and her mom hadn’t asked her if she wanted anything, and it was her birthday today.

It seemed like everyone around her had been so focused on this new little person, that they had all failed to notice what day it was.  Not one person had wished Buffy a happy birthday today, not even her own mother.

It was probably for the best, since it was starting to feel like only bad things happened on her birthday anyway.  Maybe it would be smart to give up on them all together.  In fact this was kind of the perfect way to spend the day.  Doing what she loved with people she loved. 

Maybe it was time to make this official and see what she would have to do to adopt Nevaeh.  Faith did say to treat her like her own, she wasn’t sure if that’s what she meant but that’s what it sounded like.  She’ll call Angel later and talk it out with him.  She already couldn’t imagine life without this little girl.

She was so lost in thought she didn’t realize they were home until she heard a knock on the passenger side window.  She noticed then that the car was off and her mother had got out and come around to her side.  “You want me to carry the baby inside?  You look pretty tired sweetie.”

“Nah its okay I got her.  She’s pretty wore out from the day.  I’ll just take her straight up to bed.  We’ll worry about the bags later.”

“Ok, if you’re sure,” Joyce said stepping back away from the door.

Once the older blonde was out of the way she stepped out of the car and to the back seat.  Carefully pulling the car seat out of the car so as to not wake up the slumbering infant, she walked around to the back of the house to enter through the kitchen.

The lights were all off and she wondered where Dawn was, her mother never said anything about her being with friends today.  She shrugged it off and sat the car seat up on the island in the kitchen, releasing the handle to push it back, she slowly unbuckled the baby.  With a fair amount of practice she lifted the infant into her arms without jostling her too much.

Heading down the hall just as she was about to climb the stairs, the lights in the living room suddenly flipped on and a chorus of “Surprise” was heard out of the mouths of all her closest friends.  She felt the baby begin to move in her arms because of all the commotion and looked down to see her eyes wide open.  It appeared as if she was trying to decide to cry or go back to sleep.  Unconsciously she began to gently rock hoping she’d go back to sleep without fussing.

The gang all watched in silence each kicking themselves for not thinking about Nevaeh possibly being asleep.  This whole baby thing was still so new to all of them, but that didn’t mean they didn’t spoil the little thing rotten.  Even Dawn was slowly warming to the idea.

Once she was sure she was back to sleep, Buffy studied her friends.  Above their heads was a plain white banner with red writing simply stating “Happy Birthday!”  Of course Xander was the only one in the room wearing a little cone hat.  Anya looked bored, Giles looked his normal serious self and Tara held onto Willow’s hand, but she was beginning to look much more comfortable with the group.

She smiled and walked into the room, “and here I thought you guys forgot.”

“We’d never forget your birthday Buff,” Xander stated certainly.

Willow motioned for her to sit down on the couch.  Even though she had slayer strength it didn’t mean that holding a baby all night wouldn’t start to get tiring.  Buffy was a little surprised no one was bugging to take her yet.  Maybe they could sense what had been on Buffy’s mind earlier and her need to keep her close.

They all sat around chatting for awhile about nothing much just catching up on their days mostly.  “Why don’t you let me hold her so you can open presents?” Willow offered.

Buffy almost gave in for a minute, she couldn’t explain it though but she just didn’t want her too far away from her today.  Maybe it was just because it was her birthday and she wanted things her way.  “No it’s ok, I’ll just lay her down next to me, she’ll sleep better that way anyway.”

After putting a pillow on the side closest to the edge and making sure she was secure, she turned back to her friends as they started handing her wrapped packages.  Her friends gave her just little things she had mentioned she wanted, or they thought she’d want. 

Dawn’s present left her in awe.  She had decorated a picture frame, and inside was a picture of Buffy and Nevaeh both asleep on the couch.  She obviously didn’t even know anyone had taken a picture like this.  She remembered the day it had happened though, Vaeh had been up most of the night and they were both exhausted come morning.  “Thanks Dawn, that’s really sweet.  I love it.”

“I just didn’t want to buy you a real present,” she scoffed back, trying to act as if the praise didn’t mean something to her.

Next her mom handed her a box.  It wasn’t very big, and only slightly heavy.  Pulling the paper back carefully she looked inside to find a box that was for a Sony Cybershot camera.

“I just thought with Nevaeh now, you’d want a camera of your own so you can take pictures of her whenever you want.  The guy at the store said this was a pretty good one.  Four mega pixels, not sure what that means but he assured me it was good,” Joyce explained.  “The batteries are in there all ready to go.”

Buffy didn’t know what to say.  This wasn’t something she probably would have ever thought to buy for herself, or even that she wanted.  And yet now that she had it, she was so happy.  They’d taken quite a few pictures of Nevaeh with her mom’s camera, but now she had her own.  Looking around the box for a way to open it, she pulled it out.

Not even bothering with the instruction manual meant it took her a second to figure out how to turn it on.  Even before she had it on though she knew what the first picture was going to be.  She snapped off a couple pictures of the still sleeping infant before turning it on all her friends.

They spent the next half hour or so taking various pictures in different groups and poses.  Just laughing and enjoy the night.

“When are we going to do the cake?” Dawn asked at one point.

Once the cake and ice cream was all dished out and everyone was sitting around the living room enjoying it, Buffy decided to bring up the thing that had been on her mind all night.  “What would you guys think if I decided to make this official?” she asked them cautiously.

“What do you mean Buffy?” Willow asked back.  Everybody else was too busy looking around trying to figure out if anybody knew what she was talking about.

Here goes nothing, “I mean what would you think if I adopted Nevaeh?  It’s only been a month but I’m already starting to feel like her mother, and I dunno it just feels right.”

“Well if it’s what you really want I’ll support you,” Willow spoke without hesitation.

Giles pulled off his glasses cleaning them quickly, “Yes I dare say that’s probably a good decision, make things easier legally.”

Joyce glanced at him, disappointed his agreement to the idea was for that reason.  “I think it’s a wonderful idea Buffy.  I’d love for her to officially become a part of this family, she feels like my granddaughter anyway.”

Everyone else voiced their opinions all positive.  She should have known though, she knew she wasn’t the only one attached to the sweet little thing.  The whole gang had taken to her instantly.  It would be pretty hard not to love her.  “Thanks guys, I think I’ll call Angel tomorrow, since he’s the one that helped Faith turn guardianship over to me.  Maybe he’ll be able to help with this.”

Pulling the infant back into her arms she leaned down to whisper in her ear.  “Hear that little one, everyone wants you to be a member of this family.  You’re gonna be a Summers.”  In the back of her head she knew she’d have to talk to Faith too before that happened, but she wasn’t going to let herself think about tonight.

\--

Faith woke up in her cell in a cold sweat, much the way she had for the last month since she’d had to say goodbye to her daughter.  She knew she had left her in good hands.  No matter how much shit went on between them, Buffy and the Scooby gang would never let anything bad happen to an innocent baby. 

It had been a hard decision to make and even harder to accomplish, but she was happy it all worked out.  Well as happy as she could be under the circumstances.  She hadn’t heard a word from B, not that she really believed she would.  So long as her daughter was safe, that was the main thing.

How she wished things were different, that she was a free woman and able to raise her baby girl herself.  She could get out any time she wanted to, she knew that, but then she’d be a fugitive and that’s no way to raise a child.  It wouldn’t be much different than her own childhood and she didn’t want that for Nevaeh.  She was where she needed to be.

“Lehane, ya got mail,” Sheldon called out tossing an envelope through the bars.  He was one of the guards she didn’t get along with.  He was one of those that thought the sole reason he was here was to shell out punishment and she never got into trouble so that didn’t sit right with him.

Getting up from her bunk, she reached down to pick the letter off the floor where he threw it.  It felt stiff in her hands definitely not paper.  There was only a return address but no name on the front.  From her days in Sunnydale though she was sure this was Buffy’s address.

Flipping it to the back, it was already ripped open, those bastards always gotta go through their mail.  Seems like an invasion of privacy if ya asked her, but it’s not like she could really complain.  At least they gave them their mail at all, she guessed.

Rubbing the palms of her hands on her jumpsuit to get rid of the moisture, she couldn’t believe how nervous she felt.  She didn’t even know what was inside yet.  Lifting the flap, she hesitantly pulled out the sheet that was inside.

It simply read, “Nevaeh 1 month old, Jan. 19, 2001.”  On the other side was a picture of her baby fast asleep on what looked like B’s couch. 

The tears began to fill her eyes but she wouldn’t let them out as she ran her thumb over the baby’s cheek.  She was such a sweetie.  She couldn’t believe she created something so beautiful.  Being pregnant was definitely the best feeling she’d ever had, even with the impending dread of knowing she wouldn’t get to keep her.

She hoped one day Buffy would bring her to see her, but she was sure that probably wouldn’t happen.  She told her to treat her daughter as her own, even if that meant no longer being her mother.  She was hoping B at least told her about Faith, even as the crazy psycho aunt.  Maybe someday she’d get to see her.  She sure hoped so.


	3. Chapter 2- Adoption? (January 01)

**Chapter 2**

The February sunshine was fairly cool today as the inmates of the Northern California Women’s Facility involved themselves in various activities.  It felt great to the four girls playing a game of two on two though.  Faith could feel the beads of sweat roll down her back as she swooped around Joey trying to steal the ball.  Her heart really wasn’t in the game though and after a few more failed attempts she told the girls she was done and walked off the small half court.

She walked across the yard not sure what to do with her time left outside.  Not even the weights held any appeal to her today.  She considered asking permission if she could just go back to her cell but after last week’s incident with a couple of girls she was sure she’d get a no anyway.

Finding a quiet corner where she could be alone, she slid down the wall until she was sitting on the cold cement.  Pulling her knees up to her chest, she slipped out the folded up photo she kept inside her jumpsuit pocket next to her heart.

After only a few weeks the photo was already starting to show signs of being handled regularly.  She ran her fingers lovingly over the baby’s cheek as she always did in times like these.  She never thought much to having kids before she realized she was pregnant, but now that she had one she was miserable without her.  She kept trying to convince herself that as long as she was safe that was all that mattered, but it didn’t stop her from missing her more than she ever thought possible.  How could she be so attached to something she only got to see for a few minutes after she was born?

“Whacha got there?” Joey asked standing above Faith, looking down at the picture she held in her hands. 

It wasn’t a secret around here that Faith had given birth less than two months ago so she wasn’t sure why Joey would be asking.  Although the two of them were almost what you could call friends, she hadn’t shared this piece of her daughter with anyone.  “A picture of my baby.  Buffy sent it to me a couple weeks ago.”

Plopping down to sit beside her, Joey studied the picture more closely.  “Cute.  Who’s Buffy?  She your girlfriend or something?”

 _WHAT?_ Faith screamed inside her head.  Where the hell would Joey get such an idea?  Although she’d had a few offers since she’d been in the joint she’d made it clear she was straight and nothing was going to change that.

“No she’s a… a friend I guess you could say.  I sent Nevaeh to live with her, safest place I knew for her to be.”  She didn’t want to give her friend too much information though.  As much as she liked the girl, she didn’t believe she could entirely trust anyone in here and that’s the way she was going to keep it.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Eddie approaching them and quickly put the picture back in her pocket and stood up to meet him.

“Faith you got a visitor,” he told her kindly.  She liked Eddie he was one of the few that treated her like a person and not a criminal.  He was also the only one that called her by her first name.  She hated being called by her last name all the time.  She hated be associated with the bastard that was her father.

She was confused though, the only one that visited her was Angel and she hadn’t heard anything about a visit from him.  Plus it was the middle of the day.  The only other person she could think would have any reason was Buffy, but she didn’t want to hope for that.  “I wasn’t expecting anybody today.”

“It’s that investigator friend of yours.  Said he had something important to talk to you about so they let him in unscheduled.”  Those few words left Faith feeling a little uneasy.  Could be worse, he could have said emergency which would likely mean another apocalypse or something.  But what could possibly be important enough to bring Angel here in the middle of the day?

She followed Eddie back inside to the visitor’s area.  She had the phone to her ear before she even plopped down into the uncomfortable chair.  “This is a surprise.  Especially considering the time of day and all.”

“I tried to get here earlier but things interrupted,” was all he said, leaving her to understand that the demon world had been keeping him busy.  “I had something to talk to with you about though so I came as soon as I possibly could.  Buffy called me the other day.”

Faith almost dropped the phone then, afraid whatever he had to say next wasn’t going to be good.  If he was telling her this it could only mean it had to do with Nevaeh.  They never talked about Buffy otherwise.

Seeing the look on Faith’s face, he knew he just had to say it and get it over with.  “She wants to adopt her Faith.”

She did drop the phone this time.  Buffy wanted to keep her baby?  She knew this might happen, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and didn’t allow herself to think about it too much.  She was torn as to how to feel about that.  On one hand she wanted to be her child’s mother and she didn’t want anyone else involved, but she knew that wasn’t possible right now.  Maybe she believed that someday she might get to have her child back too. 

On the other hand Nevaeh would have a real mother.  Someone who could raise her, protect her, and love her.  If she let Buffy adopt her, she knew there might be a possibility that she would never get to see her again.  Maybe it was better this way though. 

Angel sat there waiting patiently for Faith to process what he told her.  He knew it wouldn’t be easy for her.  She was a wreck when she first told him of her pregnancy but after that he had seen how much she loved that baby even before she was born.  A part of him had hoped she’d let him raise her, but he knew Buffy was likely the better choice.  A vampire, with a soul or not, was not the best choice to raise a baby.

“I need some time to think about this.  Just give me a few days and I’ll have an answer for her.” 

Angel just nodded his head before saying goodbye and leaving Faith there alone to think.  She didn’t even remember the walk back to her cell.

\--

“Alright sweetie, let mommy just get ready and then you and I are going to go to the Magic Box and make some money off Grandpa Giles.”  Buffy smiled, leaning over the baby girl currently laying on her bed.  A part of her thought she shouldn’t be calling herself mommy yet.  She hadn’t heard from Angel about his conversation with Faith, so she wasn’t even sure she could adopt her for sure, but she couldn’t help it.  Ever since she made the decision to make it official she couldn’t stop herself.

Vaeh smiled up at her in return and let out a little coo.  Already the baby appeared to be trying to talk back.  Wasn’t any surprise though whenever she was awake someone was always there in her face talking to her.  Buffy figured she’d talk early for that very reason.  She’d read a few baby books so she’d have a better idea on about when she should hit certain milestones.

She was sleeping three to four hours now at a time at night, which was a great relief to Buffy.  She didn’t do so well with the whole two hours at a time.

After slipping her shoes on her feet, she picked the infant up, holding her so she could look directly into her little face.  “Now mommy’s ready, let’s say we go find you car seat and get this show on the road.”  That earned her another smile.  “I don’t think you have any idea what I’m saying, but that’s ok as long as you keep smiling at me like that.”  Kissing her on the forehead, she moved to hold her against her chest and grabbed the diaper bag before heading downstairs.

Putting the baby in the car seat she found left in the living room she called into the kitchen, “Hey Mom, do you have time to drive us to Magic Box?  If not it’s cool we’ll walk,” Buffy added, not wanting her mom to feel as though she had to take them.

“That’s fine, just give me a minute to get my things and I’ll meet you in the car.  Better grab the stroller though just in case you have to walk home,” Joyce called from the other room.

They had bought one of those strollers that the car seat clips into it while she’s still so little but would still be able to use it as Vaeh got older.  She was sure it was still in the car from the other day but she’d check when they got out there to be sure.

Buffy was currently working on finally getting her driver’s license.  She was getting better, but she still preferred her mom to drive when the baby was in the car.  She knew having a child though meant she might need to know how to drive from time to time.  The only one that dared take her out though was Xander.  They’d go out after he got off for the day and Willow and Tara would babysit.  Everything was falling into place.

By the time they reached the Magic Box, Nevaeh was sound asleep, so she moved her as carefully as she could from her car seat to the play pen behind the counter.  They had settled on that being the best place for it since Anya was almost always at the cash register and everyone else was constantly moving around.

And so began another day of work.  She was grateful to Giles for giving her this job.  Definitely better than having to work somewhere stupid like the Doublemeat Palace.  Their uniforms, talk about a fashion nightmare for sure.

\--

The next three days were spent on auto pilot for Faith.  She left her cell only to eat.  She was lost within in her own mind trying to figure out what the best thing to do was.  Deep down she knew the best thing would be to let her go.  She was a convicted criminal, her baby deserved more than that.  Buffy was no saint surely, but at least she hadn’t murdered someone.

She was still holding onto the hope though that some miracle would happen and she’d be released and could raise her daughter herself.  It was an everyday fantasy she had as she fell asleep each night.  Some days she looked at herself and didn’t recognize the person she had become.  Nevaeh was definitely the thing that gave her the biggest reason to turn herself around.

By the time Angel returned on the third day, she knew what she had to do.  “Tell B I’ll let her adopt her on one condition…”

\--

Looking at the clock Buffy was glad to see that the day was more than half over.  Today had been an extremely busy one at the Magic Box and she was exhausted.  She was so glad Nevaeh chose that moment to let out a hungry cry giving her a moment to sit down and feed her.

With ready bottle and baby in hand, she headed back into the training room to get some peace and quiet for a few.  Giles had brought a couch into the room since this was her favorite place now to take a break with the baby.  Slouching down so she could rest her feet, she offered Vaeh her bottle.  “Little one, Mommy’s tired.  Think I could hide out in here with you for awhile?”

Putting her head back she closed her eyes and sighed in relaxation.  She must have dozed off because next thing she knew Giles was clearing his throat in an attempt to wake her up and the bottle in her hand was completely empty.  “Sorry Giles I didn’t mean to fall asleep on the job.”

“It’s all right Buffy, you were due for a break anyway.  However, the phone is for you.  I thought you’d want to take it since its Angel.”  He waited for her to get up slowly without waking the baby before leading her back out into the store.

She put Vaeh back in the playpen and covered her up with her blanket before heading over to answer the phone.

Hesitantly she picked it up.  She wasn’t sure she was ready for this conversation.  She couldn’t take it though and without preamble, “Angel, did you talk to her.”

This didn’t seem to faze the always broody vampire however.  “Yes I did.  She wants to talk to you.”

“She wants to talk?  To me?” she asked, not really wanting or expecting an answer.  Of course wouldn’t you want to talk to the person who is taking your child from you permanently?  She should have expected this, in fact she did expect this.  Yet at the same time she couldn’t let herself believe it.  “I’m guessing she doesn’t exactly mean on the phone either.”

He didn’t bother to give that an answer either instead answering one that hasn’t yet been asked.  “You can see her as soon as tomorrow.  She’s added you to her visitors list.”

“I’ll a…guess I’ll see what I can do.  Thanks Angel.”  She talked with him for a few more minutes before hanging up.

\--

Buffy was flipping through Nevaeh’s clothes trying to figure out what to dress the little girl in.  She had done the same with her own outfit finally settling on same khaki slacks and plain white blouse.  Now she couldn’t figure out what to put her baby girl in.  She wanted her to look nice and taken care of.  They were going to see Faith today.

It had been five days since the phone call from Angel.  She wanted to go as sooner but it just wasn’t possible.  “Alright baby, what should you wear,” she spoke to the infant, not even bothering to turn from the closet.  “We’re going to see your other Mommy today and I want you to look nice.  We want her to see how well you’re doing here and let me adopt you.”

Finally settling on a light blue jumper with a plain white onesie underneath, she began to get Nevaeh dressed.  Most of the little girl’s wardrobe consisted of very girly colors and she didn’t know how Faith would feel about her being dressed in pink.  Better to go with safer colors.

She lightly brushed the little bit of dark hair on the baby’s head before adding a matching headband.  “I can’t wait til you have enough hair to put it up in a ponytail.  At the rate it’s growing shouldn’t be too long.”  She’s come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter what you say to the little girl, she’ll smile at you as long as she knows you’re talking to her.

Now that they were all ready to go, all the sudden Buffy was really nervous.  What if Faith just wanted to see her face when she told her no?  No according to Angel she’s really changed since realizing she was pregnant.  Surely she wasn’t that cruel.

Obviously she loved Nevaeh a great deal, she knew that much.  She couldn’t imagine any other reason for her making the decision to send her to Buffy in the first place if she didn’t love her very much.  If the situation was reversed she couldn’t imagine doing the same thing.  But she is right in thinking it best the child of a slayer stay with another slayer.

“Oh baby girl I really hope she says yes.  I mean I know you’ll still get to stay regardless, I’d just feel better.  Oh when is your uncle Xander gonna get here to drive us?”  Now that they are both ready to go, she’s getting very impatient to leave.  She needed to calm down, he wasn’t even late yet.  He still had ten minutes before the agreed upon time.

Deciding it best to wait in the living room so she could see as soon as he got there, she held Nevaeh to her chest as she made her way down the stairs.  Her mom had offered to pack the diaper bag for her and it was sitting next to the car seat ready to go.

A part of her had a hard time believing she was really about to make the drive up to see Faith.  It didn’t seem real.  She never really let herself think about the fact that her baby came from the other woman.  In her heart she already thought of Vaeh as her own and never allowed her mind to think too deeply on where she came from.

She knew what she needed to do when she saw the dark slayer.  Faith just wanted reassurance that her daughter wasn’t going to grow up not knowing who she was.  She had to make sure Faith knew that she would tell Nevaeh about her other mother.  That she wouldn’t be forgotten about.  As hard as it was, Buffy also knew that was the right thing to do, especially if Faith had changed as much as Angel said she had.

Seeing Xander pull up outside, she began to strap the baby into her car seat as she heard him honk the horn.  Smart boy for knowing she wouldn’t want to waste time and have him come to the door.  Making sure she had everything, the two headed out the door and Buffy had her fingers crossed that everything would go ok.


	4. Chapter 3- Visit with Faith (February 01)

**Chapter 3**

Angel had warned her about getting through security at the prison, but she had no idea it would be that thorough.  She first had to wait in line to check in with a guard who checked her ID with the visitors list and asked her a several questions on which inmate she was here to see and why as well as who the infant with her was.

After that she was forced to wait in yet another line where at the front she was forced to leave the car seat and diaper bag with security before going through a body scan.  They gave her a clean plastic bag to put a diaper and wipes in, nothing else was allowed to go through.  They didn’t allow formula powder or premade bottles, so she was thankful she thought ahead and bought some of the ready to use formula still sealed in the bottle, as those were allowed through.

Finally she thought she was done as a muscular guard began to lead her away and down a hallway.  However the room he lead her too wasn’t a room full of booths with windows separating the prisoners from the visitors like Angel had told her to expect.  Instead he showed her to a room with a table and benches.  No one else was in the room and she wondered what was going on.  Were they not going to let her see Faith after all that?

The guard left her there alone without a word, closing the door behind him.  She sat there stewing over what could be wrong for a good five minutes before the door opened again.  In walked Faith followed by an ever bigger looking guard than the one that had showed her in here.

Faith seemed almost as surprised as Buffy was at the situation they now find themselves in.  She hesitantly walked over to the table and sat across from Buffy.  “B, you came?  I was starting to wonder.”

Buffy wasn’t sure what to say, this situation was so odd.  “Yeah, sorry, just ya know big things were happening that were, well not good,” she responded cryptically hoping Faith would understand.  The brunette seemed to as she just nodded her head.  “I’m confused, Angel said we’d have to talk through those stupid phones.”

Buffy wouldn’t believe it but Faith almost looked embarrassed at whatever answer she had to give her.  “With you having custody of my daughter I was able to add you to my list as family, and since you brought her they allowed us to have one of the rooms reserved for families.”  Buffy kind of nodded her head like she understood but she didn’t really.

Faith wasn’t sure if she wanted to say the thought that had been in her mind since she walked into the room but in the end she couldn’t hold it back.  “I can’t believe you brought her.  I uh…didn’t think you would.  I mean I just said I wanted to talk to you, so I figured you’d leave her home with your mom or something.”

The thought had actually never even crossed Buffy’s mind.  As soon as Angel told her Faith wanted to see her, she just assumed that meant Nevaeh was going with.  Maybe in the back of her mind she knew that wouldn’t be fair to Faith considering what she was here to talk to her about.  It was only right to let Faith see her daughter, as much as Buffy wanted to pretend she wasn’t.

It was nice that they didn’t have to talk through a window surrounded by a bunch of other people, but at the same time she think it might have been better cause then she wouldn’t have to ask the question that she knew she should.  “Do you want to hold her?” she asked trying to hide the hesitancy she felt.

Faith turned to the guard before answering Buffy, “Can I Eddie?”

Eddie knew he shouldn’t let her since she really wasn’t supposed to.  He had a soft spot for Faith though, she didn’t really belong here he thought.  He nodded his head yes, waving his finger at her, “but not for long and don’t be telling anybody.”

“Alright, thanks man,” she responded before turning back to Buffy.  The blonde held the infant over the table and Faith immediately reached out to grab her.  As soon as she had a hold of the precious bundle she held her close to her heart just staring down at her.  Feeling all the commotion, Nevaeh opened her eyes grudgingly to stare at the woman who held her now.

“She loves it when you talk to her,” Buffy offered up.  She was surprised when immediately Faith began to talk to her.

“Hey sweetie, I’ve sure missed you.  I love you so much, but I know you going to be safe with B and I know she’ll take really good care of you.  She’s gonna be a great mommy to you, raise ya right.  Better than I could have done,” she told her with a sadness in her voice.

Buffy tried to hold back the tears that Faith wasn’t able too.  She had never seen Faith as anything but a bad ass, a rebel, but this sweet side of her was a sight to see.  “Faith that’s not true, you would have been a good mom to her.  You’ve proven that already just by sending her to me.”  She couldn’t explain it, but she could feel a change in her relationship with Faith as they sat there.

“Thanks B.  That means a lot.”  Faith looked back down at the baby in her arms, hardly daring to believe she was real.  Six weeks without her daughter made her feel like a dream, but now here she was sitting close to her heart where she belonged.  But that wasn’t true either and she knew it.  She just couldn’t say the words to make it official just yet.

Nevaeh began to squirm around and let out a loud cry.  Faith tried to bounce her not really sure what to do to calm her down.  The crying grew louder making her feel unequipped to deal with the baby.  “What’s the matter with her?” Faith turned to ask Buffy, noticing she was already opening up a bottle of premade formula and attaching a lid with a nipple on it.

“She’s just hungry, here,” Buffy responded handing the bottle across the table.  “Just hold her so her ears are above her mouth so she doesn’t get an ear infection and give her the bottle.  She’ll quiet down as soon as it’s in her mouth.”

True to her word as soon as Faith figured out how to hold her as Buffy was describing and offered her the bottle she hushed immediately.  “See, she’s fine.  She hasn’t eaten since just before we left the house this morning.  I’m surprised she lasted as long as she did.”

Faith couldn’t believe how well Buffy had taken to this motherhood thing.  She never imagined Buffy would obviously love Nevaeh as much as she did.  She knew she’d protect her, but never let herself think much past that.

The two had both been quiet for several minutes just watching as the baby drank her bottle.  She had a feeling that even though Faith essentially brought her here she wasn’t going to bring up what they were here to talk about so she knew she was going to have to be the one to do it.

“Faith, I just wanted you to know, no matter what happens, she is going to know who you are.  I’d never take that from her.  You’re the one that gave birth to her, she deserves to know that.  I just want the chance to be her mother too.”

Faith didn’t want to say what she need to, but she knew it was time.  Their time together was going to be up soon so it needed to be said now before it was too late.  “I know B.  That’s why I wanted you to come up here, so I could tell you in person that I’m going to let you adopt her.  She deserves a real family and I know you’ll give her one.  Just please tell me your not still with that beefstick.”

Buffy couldn’t help but laugh at that.  “Riley?  No that’s so over.  Never to be repeated again.”

“Good, don’t want my girl to be calling that pussy Daddy.”  Buffy wanted to be offended at that, but she really couldn’t.  She knew now that Riley wasn’t the one for her.  Dating hadn’t even entered her mind since Nevaeh came into her life.  Her world revolved around that little girl.

“Just so you know, she’ll keep your name too, I’ll just add Summers to the end, Nevaeh Lehane Summers.  You never said if she had a middle name,” Buffy added as an afterthought.

Faith felt like blushing if she was the type to blush.  Nevaeh’s middle name was the thing she debated over the most.  She couldn’t decide between two names, but when she was born and she looked into those little eyes for the brief moment she got to hold her she knew what name she should give her.  “Her name is Nevaeh Anne.”

“My middle name is Anne.”

Faith just shrugged like it was nothing, “I know.  I figured since you were going to have her she should share something with you.”

Buffy didn’t know what to say to that.  She didn’t have the chance though instead Faith filled the silence.  “Thanks for sending me the picture of her too by the way.”

“Sure, it’s no problem.  I’ll send you more later.  Mom bought me a camera for my birthday so I could take plenty of pictures.

“Thanks B, I’d really love that.  At least I’ll get to see her grow up through pictures.”

Before Buffy had the chance to respond to that Eddie told them their visit was almost up for the day.  So the quickly discussed the adoption for a few minutes figuring out what would need to be done.  The bad thing about being in a family room is they didn’t have the privacy they’d have had they been in the booths with their conversation blended into everyone else’s.  Faith promised to write her a little later though with more of the information she’d need to know.

When Eddie signaled they were out of time, Faith leaned down to give the sleeping baby a kiss on the forehead and a whispered “I love you,” before reluctantly handing her back over to Buffy.

As they were both escorted out of the room in different directions Buffy promised to bring her again for another visit as soon as she could.  After getting her stuff back from security Buffy made her way outside to find Xander fast asleep in his car.  She told him not to wait around, to go find something to do.  Apparently he decided sleep sounded better.

Gently tapping on the window next to his head she woke him up so he could unlock the door for her.  Buckling Vaeh tightly into the back seat, she walked around to sit in the passenger seat.

By the smile on her face Xander knew Buffy had got the permission she was seeking so he just gave her a big hug before turning on the car and heading out of the parking lot.

Buffy could help but feel different as they headed home.  She knew a big part of that was that now that she had permission from Faith she could really start to feel like Vaeh’s mother but it was more than that.  Something between her and Faith had changed that day, she just didn’t know what it was.

\--

A week later Buffy grabbed the mail out of the mailbox as she headed into the house.  She had spent the entire day at the Magic Box.  It had been another exhausting day but considering how much Giles was willing to pay her she couldn’t really complain.  She was happy she was able to do most of the providing for her and Nevaeh. 

On the off chance anything went wrong in the adoption it would also be a good thing to be able to prove she could provide for them.  She wasn’t too worried though since it would be a private adoption and she didn’t think she’d have to go through all those hoops of proving she could provide a home since she was never in the system and Faith was allowing her to be adopted.  She wanted to be sure she had her bases covered though just in case.

Nevaeh was wide awake as they entered the house through the front door so Buffy transferred her to the swing in the living room so she could watch the mobile above her head.  Plopping onto the couch she began sorting through the mail.  Most of it was bills and ads for her mother so she put those on the end table knowing Joyce would find them there when she got home later. 

Her mother had a date tonight and she couldn’t be happier for the older woman that she was getting back to normal life.  After everything they went through with the surgery she was glad to see her mom happy and full of life again.

Reaching the last envelope, Buffy found it was a letter for her.  This must be the letter Faith said she’d send her when she had a chance.  Quickly flipping it over and tearing it open she pulled out paper inside.

_B,_

_Since we didn’t have any privacy the other day I figured it would be best to tell you this in a letter instead of in front of Eddie.  I haven’t had a chance to tell you how Nevaeh came into being and I figured you’d need to know a few things if you’re going to adopt her._

_On her birth certificate I listed Angel as her father.  Obviously he’s not for reasons you already know and because I’ve never slept with him.  But the truth is I don’t have a clue who her father is.  After I left Sunnydale and came to LA I went on a three day bender and I don’t remember most of what happened.  All I know is sometime in that period is when I got pregnant.  After all these years never thought it’d happen to me.  Guess that’s not really the point though is it._

_Anyway I just figured it would be easier if the law viewed Angel as her father.  This way she didn’t have to go into foster care when she was born she just went to her “father” and then made it easier to transfer custody to you._

_I wish I could have woken up from that coma a better person, but then neither one of us would have that precious little girl.  She’s what makes it worth it.  I’m trying to be a person she deserves to have in her life, I hope you know that._

_Thank you so much for bringing her with you.  You have no idea how much that meant to me just to see her again.  She really is my piece of Heaven on Earth.  Give her my love._

_Faith_

Wow, she could understand why Faith couldn’t say some of that stuff in front of Eddie.  It would be better to get the whole Angel part in all this a secret she could see.  She wondered why Angel never told her that part though.  Maybe Faith told him not too.

This would likely make things even easier, at least in her mind since Angel would be there to also sign over on the adoption.  She was getting so excited about this whole thing.  Not able to stand being away from the baby any longer, she pulled Nevaeh out of the swing and into her lap.

“Got a letter from your Mommy F, baby girl.  She wants you to know she loves you,” she told the infant giving her a kiss on the cheek.  “Pretty soon you’re going to be Summers officially, but you’re always going to be a Lehane too, just remember that.  I promised Faith that you’d know her too.  Guess we’ll refer to her as your Mama, might be less confusing than Mommy B and Mommy F.”

Nevaeh smiled up at her as if she knew exactly what was going on.  Buffy couldn’t help but smile back.  Being a mom was the best feeling she’d ever have.  She couldn’t wait until it was all official.  She hadn’t fully realized it yet, but she was well on her way to forgiving Faith for all the crap that went on in their past.  It just didn’t seem important anymore.  Nothing mattered but the baby in her arms.


	5. Chapter 4- Night Falls (April 01)

**Chapter 4**

Buffy glanced in the rear view mirror, smiling at the car seat and the infant she was sure was sleeping inside it.  The first drive she had ever taken by herself and with Nevaeh in the car and she had to choose such a long one.  She had received her license only a few weeks ago, but up until today still hadn’t driven by herself.

Her mother had been so happy for her when she’d finally passed the test.  She had planned a nice little get together with all her friends in celebration.  That would be the last time her family would all be together.  She choked on a sob, trying not to think about that night any longer.  Glancing in the mirror again, she tried to let a smile show through that always came when she thought of Nevaeh. 

She wasn’t sure why she even decided to make this trip.  She just felt like it was something she needed to do.  Talk to somebody who wasn’t as involved in the situation as her friends were.  Pulling into the women’s correctional facility she unbuckled Vaeh, and pulled her out of the car seat, not bothering to take it inside this time.  She grabbed the clear plastic bag she had prepared before she left the house and headed inside.

It had been almost two months since she came the last time when Faith gave her permission to adopt the baby in her arms, and she felt bad for waiting so long to come again but too much was going on to come sooner.  Getting through security was easy this time around and it wasn’t long before she was waiting in a room all by herself.  Faith had no idea she was coming so it would surely be a shock to the other girl when she entered the room.

The surprise was evident on the brunette’s face when she entered the room, followed by the guard she knew as Eddie from her last visit.  “Hey B,” Faith greeted, sitting down across from her just as she did the last time. 

Buffy lifted Nevaeh onto the table so she was sitting on the table with Buffy’s hands under her arms supporting her.  “Look at how big she’s gotten.  She’s growing so fast, doesn’t seem like it in the pictures you send me.”  Faith reached over replace Buffy’s hands under her arms, pulling her forward so she was now sitting in front of the dark slayer, chubby legs dangling off the table.

“Yeah she’s almost sitting up by herself, still needs a little help though.  She tried to crawl but can’t quite get her legs to cooperate.  She’s got pretty strong arms though and pulls herself forward just a bit here and there.”  They’ve exchanged a few letters back and forth over the last couple months, mostly about the curly haired baby, but Buffy felt better telling her things in person even if she’d already written about it before.

Faith smiled down at the baby before her pulling faces trying to get her to laugh.  “Amazing how quickly they learn that shit.  I mean uh…” Faith paused trying to think of something that wasn’t a swear word but coming up blank.

Seeing the girl’s brain at work, the blonde tried to assure it, “it’s okay, I don’t think we have to worry about her learning bad words just yet.  You might want to work on that though.  Bad enough she’ll probably be the only kindergartener using words like ‘wicked’ and five-by-five’,” Buffy teased.

Faith knew she was teasing her and laughed accordingly, but inside it warmed her heart at the thought that Buffy was indicating she planned to bring Nevaeh around enough for her to pick up some things from her.  She never thought she’d get so lucky as to get not only letters and pictures but visits as well when she made the decision to give her to Buffy.  They never talked about their past and it almost seemed as if Buffy had forgotten it had ever happened.  She couldn’t though and she knew someday they’d need to have that talk.

She was so busy playing with the baby and thinking inside her head she didn’t notice right away that the look on Buffy’s face had changed to one that could only be described as sorrow.  As soon as she noticed however, she began to wonder if maybe there was another reason for Buffy’s visit then just bringing the baby to see her.  Immediately she wondered if something had happened to Angel, but that didn’t seem likely, she had just talked to the vampire the other day on the phone.

Buffy’s face fell into her hands as she tried to control the emotion that had overcome her watching Faith with her daughter.  Seeing how much Faith loved the little girl reminded her of her own mother, and before she could get it under control, tears filled her eyes.  She was embarrassed to have the younger girl see her cry but she knew it wasn’t going to be helped this time.

“Hey, B, what’s wrong?”  When the distraught girl didn’t answer her right away she wondered what to do.  She knew prisoners and visitors weren’t allowed to touch anything more than hold hands, but she wanted so bad to reach out to her sister slayer right now.  Eddie was already letting her break one rule by holding Nevaeh, she wasn’t sure if she could ask him to turn the other way again. 

She looked at him anyways, as if to say “can I?”  She watched the indecision on his face before he slowly nodded his head as if to say “ok but don’t make it a habit.”  She always knew she liked that guy.  Holding Nevaeh in her arms, she walked around the table to sit next to Buffy.  Keeping one arm around the baby where she sat on her lap, she wrapped her left arm around Buffy, pulling the girl to rest her head on her shoulder.

“It’s alright B, just take your time.”  She didn’t know what else to say right now.  Until she calmed down, she doubted she’d get any answers out of the girl.  It was a good five minutes before she heard the sniffles indicating she was trying to get herself under control.

Finally tilting her head up to look at the taller girl, she studied her for a moment, her eyes red and puffy.  She couldn’t deny Faith’s arm around her felt good and she couldn’t figure out why.  The dark haired girl looked down at her with questions in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, just seeing you with Vaeh was too much,” she admitted, not sure how much more she dared say.

“What’s going on Buffy?  I know it’s more than that.”

Sucking in a deep breath, “My mom passed away last week.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.  How?” she asked wondering if it was a demon, but knew she couldn’t ask that in front of Eddie.

“She uh…” Buffy paused trying to gather her thoughts, “it was an aneurysm.  She had a tumor removed a while back ago, and we thought she was fine.  Then one day I came home after work and she was just gone.”

“Oh B, I don’t even know what to say.”  Sensing the emotion in the room Nevaeh started to whimper, so Faith began bouncing her knee trying to calm her down without letting go of Buffy.  In the corner of her eye she saw Eddie signally she needed to get back to her seat soon before she got them both into trouble.

She held Buffy for another moment before walking back to her side of the table.  With her baby settled back in her lap, Faith reached her hand across the table reaching for Buffy’s.  The other girl didn’t hesitate to take Faith’s hand into her own, entwining their fingers together.  Any other day it would have left both girls wondering what was going on, but right now it simply just felt right.

“I’m ok.  I guess I just needed to get that out.  I love my friends, but they were close to her too so it’s hard to talk to them about it.”

She tried to convey what she was feeling by gripping the blonde slayer’s hand tighter.  “I know we don’t have the best history, but things are different now B.  You can talk to me,” Faith told her meaning it.  She wanted them to be friends like they should have all along.

“Thanks,” Buffy sniffled for the last time, finally managing to pull herself back together.  She still didn’t release Faith’s hand however, liking the way it felt in her own. 

She desperately wanted to find a bathroom and clean herself up though, knowing she must look like a mess, but she wasn’t sure she’d be allowed to do that.  That might require them cutting her visit short and that wouldn’t be fair to Faith who hadn’t really gotten to visit with Vaeh. 

She wished she could give the other girl some privacy with the baby.  It was getting to be too hard seeing how much Faith loved her and not being able to be with her.  She spent the rest of their visit trying not to watch as the normally tough girl, spoke baby talk to the little girl in her lap and played with her.  Faith would have made such a wonderful mother that much was obvious.  It made her sad that she would never get that chance now.

Maybe she shouldn’t have pushed so hard to get Faith to turn herself in.  She didn’t really belong here.  What she did was wrong, but it wasn’t entirely her fault.  If she would have tried harder to get through to her when Finch was killed, then everything with the Mayor would have never happened.

But then Nevaeh would likely never have been born and both of them would have missed out on how wonderful this little girl was.  There was just something about her that made people instantly fall in love with her.  She wanted to ask Faith what she thought of the things rolling around her in her head but she didn’t.  Not sure she really wanted to get into that discussion with the younger girl.  Especially since she knew their visit was almost over.

Figuring Eddie wouldn’t say anything, Faith leaned in and gave Buffy a half hug as she passed the baby back to her as their visit came to an end.  If asked she wouldn’t be able to say why she did it, she just felt like she needed to give the girl one final piece of comfort before she left.  She watched as the duo left the room ahead of her, not sure what she was feeling just then.

\--

Buffy watched as Nevaeh tried to lift her arms up and down to splash in the bath water.  The little girl was getting pretty good at it.  To slow to make a real splash but she had the concept down.  She splashed back lightly at the baby, earning a smile when a few drops landed on the cherub’s face.  Vaeh loved water.  Bath time was the most exciting part of the day for her.

“Did you like playing with Mama today?” she asked the baby earning a dimpled grin.  The girl looked so much like Faith she couldn’t believe it.  She wished she could see baby pictures of the other girl, sure she wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.  “Yeah she had a great time with you too.  Sorry I interrupted your time, I just miss your grandma.  She was so happy to be a grandma, she really loved you baby.”

Pouring the baby shampoo into her hands she began to massage the baby’s scalp, washing the dark curls.  “You have the prettiest hair.  Whatever people tell you, don’t let them convince you they should straighten it.  Mommy loves your curls.”

The baby began splashing again, making it more difficult for Buffy to wash the shampoo out of her hair but she managed with skill perfected over time.  Quickly washing her body, she lifted her out and into a big fluffy towel before pulling the plug on the tub. 

She held the baby to her chest as she wandered back to the room the two were still sharing.  Her teeth chattered a little, showing how cold she always got after bath no matter how tightly she was wrapped.  Drying the little girl as quickly as she could, she made quick work of her diaper and pajamas, before wrapping her up in her blanket. 

She learned it was easier to make the bottle before bath time so she didn’t have to take another trip downstairs in between bath and bed.  Grabbing it off her night stand, she felt to make sure it was still warm enough before offering it to the sleepy girl.

The baby closed her eyes as she began to suck on the bottle, quickly falling into a state of being half-asleep while she ate.  “Your Mama sure was happy to see you today.  She loves you so much.  Hard for me to wrap my head around, but I know it’s true.  I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at you.” 

Nevaeh didn’t make any movement to suggest she even knew she was being talked to, but Buffy didn’t stop, wanting to get the thoughts in her head organized.  It was something she’d gotten into the habit of doing since Vaeh had come into her life, talking to her to figure things out.

“You baby, brought us back together and made us almost friends I guess.  She was so sweet to me today.  I never would have thought I would see such actions from her before.”  She continued to talk long after the bottle was gone and Nevaeh was fast asleep.

Once she noticed, she leaned down giving the infant a lingering kiss on the forehead before placing her in her crib.  “Guess you can finally have your own room now.  I’m not ready to move Mom’s stuff out though so if you don’t mind we’ll just share for a bit longer,” she said before climbing into bed and falling quickly to sleep herself.

\--

_Faith stood below a poorly constructed tower trying to figure out what was going on.  This had to be a dream.  Glancing down she noticed she was still in her prison attire, so definitely a dream.  All around here were ugly looking dudes scurrying around like they were in a hurry for something.  They didn’t seem to notice her though so she figured she was just here to watch._

_Zombies started filling the place up, or that’s the only way she could describe them.  Pushing her way through was woman all dressed up with blonde hair that looked like it had some red in it too.  She was pushing a young teenager who was also dressed up, but the blue dress had an older feel too it.  It took Faith a moment to recognize the young girl, but she was sure it was Buffy’s little sister._

_The ugly looking trolls took the girl from the woman and began pushing her up the tower.  The scene changed before Faith and she found herself now on top of the tower.  She could feel the metal beneath her feet, and feel the slight sway of the structure._

_They tied Dawn to beams standing up from the platform making sure she couldn’t get away.  Both girls looked down as they heard the commotion begin below them and watched as Buffy and her friends tried desperately to get up here to where they both were._

_Faith tried to untie the girl, but her hands simply went through the ropes and she knew for sure she was only here to watch and learn.  What she wasn’t sure.  She heard Dawn call out to Buffy and wish she could do the same, wanting so badly to help in some way.  The blonde slayer made it about half way up the tower before being sent back down to the ground._

_A white haired man appeared seemingly out of nowhere before her, heading for the young girl, taunting her and producing a knife.  The terror on Dawn’s face had Faith heart squeezed into a vice grip knowing she couldn’t stop what was about to happen._

_Just as the small man was about to slice the girl open, she felt the tower shift slightly has another man appeared.  She thought she recognized him but she wasn’t sure why, he was obviously a vampire though by the way he carried himself.  He traded blows with the one they called Doc before being pushed off the platform._

_Now there was no one up here beside the three of them and Faith could only watch as the knife sliced through Dawn’s skin and the blood dripped down her body.  Buffy finally made it up there but by then it was too late, the blood was already creating a portal below them all._

_Buffy untied her sister and pulled her towards the back of the structure where it was a little bit sturdier.  Faith could tell by the look on Buffy’s face just what she was going to do.  Even though she hadn’t been with the Scoobies to research as they had likely did, she knew there was only one way to close the portal.  She watched as Buffy whispered in Dawn’s ear before running and diving off the platform as if she was just going for a swim._

Faith woke up with a start, the image of Buffy’s lifeless body clear in her mind.  She knew what she had just dreamed hadn’t happened…yet.  It felt too real to just be a dream though.  She was almost positive it was one of those prophetic dreams that slayers sometimes get.

She also knew that it was given to her so she could possibly change the outcome, but how she didn’t know.  Should she call Buffy and tell her what she dreamed?  That might not change anything though.  In fact if Buffy knew what was going to happen it could possibly make the situation worse.

She could understand Buffy’s need to end what was happening.  She even understood how she probably felt like it was her responsibility to stop it.  What she couldn’t figure out was how she could end her own life knowing so many people counted on her.  Although if she was in her position she’d likely do the same thing.  She couldn’t imagine a world without Buffy in it though and she knew she needed to change that as much for herself as for her daughter.

There was only one way she could think of to change the outcome and that was to change the players involved.  As soon as she could, she made a made a phone call to a number she knew by heart.  “Hey, it’s me,” she spoke once the other person picked up the phone.  “I need you to do something for me.”


	6. Chapter 5- Beautiful Day (May/ July 01)

**Chapter 5**

No matter how hard she tried, Buffy couldn’t get past Glory long enough to get to the top of the tower.  She knew someone was up there with her sister, she just couldn’t figure out who.  Since Glory didn’t appear worried that she wasn’t up there performing the ritual she figured she had one of her followers there to back her up if she couldn’t do it.  She feared if she didn’t get up there soon, it would be too late and she wouldn’t be able to stop what was about to happen.  Her only comfort was that she hadn’t seen the portal opening yet.

She fought with Glory as they both headed up the structure.  Trying to climb poles or anything that would give her the advantage over the God and make it up to her sister.  She made it about half way up where the next battle really began to get heavy again.  Knocking the bitch backwards a ladder popped off where it was bolted causing the building to sway enough to throw them both back down.

Olaff’s hammer had been lost in the fall and the God taunted her about what she was going to do now.  Just as she finished speaking a wrecking ball flew through a nearby wall, knocking Glory to the ground thanks to Xander.

Buffy could see that Glory was beginning to weaken the more they fought.  She kicked her in the chest knocking her into the beam behind her leaving her partially winded.  Blood ran down her nose from the battle.

 “You’re just a mortal.  You couldn’t understand my pain,” Glory whined.

Not trying to hide the bitchiness, “Then I’ll just have to settle for causing it,” Buffy quipped back before hitting her in the face with the hammer she had found while the God had been whinning.

Glory knew at this point the Slayer was winning, but she wouldn’t go down so easily, “You can’t kill me,” she told her hoping to give her pause.

“No.  But my arm’s not even tired yet.”  Buffy swung the hammer hitting her in the face once again.  She continued hitting her over and over again until the God almost begged her to stop before turning into Ben.  Knowing he was no threat she ran for the tower.  She didn’t even notice Giles walk up to Ben behind her.

Her feet moved at slayer speed as she climbed up the metal and ran across the boards leading up to the top of the tower.  When she was about half way up she heard what sounded like the cackles of lightning bolts and a bright light appeared at the top of the structure just above her head.  She feared now that she was too late, the portal was already opening up and she couldn’t stop it.  She didn’t know what she would do when she reached the top.

Just as she reached the plank that formed the top she watched as a taller brunette, with his back to her, threw a much smaller white haired man off the platform.  She had never see the white haired man before, but by the tail she saw under his clothes as he fell she was sure he was one of Glory’s followers.

The other man felt familiar to her but she wasn’t sure why that was until he turned around and she recognized him instantly.

 “Angel…what are you doing here?” she asked trying not to stutter in her surprise.  She didn’t think any of her friends would have called him.  They were confident they could get this done on their own, or they had been before it started.  She also hadn’t seen him below and he hadn’t been up there earlier.

Instead of answering right away, Angel walked to where Dawn was still tied and began to free her from the ropes.  “I heard you needed me,” was all he said when he finally did answer.

As soon as Dawn was free she ran for Buffy who pulled her into a tight hug, so glad to have her sister safe.  “Thanks, but who told you and how did you get here?” she questioned just as the structure began to groan under their feet.

“Let’s get out of here and I’ll explain everything later.” 

The three quickly began to make their way down as the structure seemed to fall apart around them.  They made it down to the bottom to where their friends where waiting just minutes before the whole thing seemed to collapse around them.

Battered and bruised the group began to make their way back to Revello Drive.  They entered the Summers house to find Anya sitting quietly on the couch, her worry evident.  She had stayed behind to watch Nevaeh, and the baby had long ago fallen asleep for the night leaving Anya to her thoughts.

The group fell almost silently down on the couch and chairs, exhausted from their night.  All except for Buffy who quickly ran up to her room to check on her daughter and assure herself she was ok.  Kissing her fingers and placing them on the sleeping baby’s forehead, she quietly made her way out of the room and back downstairs.

“Alright Angel, let’s hear it,” Buffy demanded.  She couldn’t deny she was grateful he was there and had probably saved Dawn’s life, as well as the world, but she needed to know how he knew.

“Faith called me a couple days ago.  She said she had, had a dream she felt was a slayer dream.  She then told me exactly what she saw.  We both knew she wouldn’t have been shown it if she wasn’t supposed to change it in some way so we discussed the best course of action.  She thought the best way to change it was to let the whole thing play out as it was meant to, but at the end I would need to show up at just the right moment and stop the ending.” 

He paused for a moment letting them all take that in before telling them what would be the hardest part.  “In the dream you died Buffy, you died trying to close the portal.  I found some local witches who were able to teleport me to the top of the tower just before the ritual was to begin.  Wasn’t hard to knock that demon off since he had no idea where I’d come from,” Angel finished.  He wasn’t really used to having to talk so much and explain himself so he hoped he’d answered everything they would want to know.

“Well it seems as if you were spot on.  Faith was likely right in it having to be the right moment.  No room for Glory and her followers to try again if you were too early,” Giles stated.

Not wanting to really stick around any longer than necessary, Angel stood.  “Well I better go, gotta get back to LA before the sun rises.”

Buffy knew she should ask him how he was getting back, but she was just too tired so instead she just thanked him again before heading upstairs.  She knew everyone would leave or find a place to sleep for the night.  She just wanted to get back to her baby and process everything that had happened.

As soon as she was in her pajamas she picked Vaeh up out of her crib as carefully as she could trying not to wake her.  She laid down with the baby tucked into her side.  Staring down at the baby in her arms, “We survived another apocalypse baby girl.  Your first one and you likely slept through the whole thing.”  She leaned down putting her face in the baby’s hair, enjoying that baby smell.  “I could have died tonight and left you.  Your Mama stopped that from happening.  I couldn’t imagine leaving you,” she sniffed letting the tears flow.  She had cried so much since becoming a parent she felt, but she couldn’t stop herself.  Instead she just let the warmth of the baby in her arms comfort her as she fell asleep.

\--

Buffy thought about just writing a letter to Faith, trying to talk herself out of making that long drive again.  In the end she knew it was probably something she should do in person.  Then she debated about taking Nevaeh this time, but as much as she loved the little girl as her own she also knew how much Faith loved her so she couldn’t do that either.

So a week after the fight with Glory, the two made their way up north once again.  Nevaeh didn’t sleep through it this time though and she had to pull over several times to calm her down.  She felt a little warm but Buffy knew that was just because she had begun to teethe.  The pediatrician she had found assured her it was completely normal.  Didn’t mean either of them liked the situation.  She was able to give her more Tylenol just as they reached the parking lot to the prison which really helped.

Going through security was starting to feel less of a pain and she wondered how many visits before it wouldn’t even faze her at all.  She also wondered what they’d do if the guard with them wasn’t Eddie one of these times.  She didn’t want to see the looks on Faith’s face if she couldn’t hold her daughter, didn’t want to see the other girl upset.  Thankfully today it was Eddie again so she didn’t have to worry.

“Hey B, back so soon,” Faith stated not really asking it.  Sitting down across from the blonde she immediately reached across for the baby that Buffy handed over without hesitation.

“Yeah I just wanted to thank you, for you know calling Angel,” she said hedging around what she was trying to say, knowing she couldn’t say it in front of Eddie.  “And I really mean it, thank you.  He told me what could have happened.”

Faith looked uncomfortable with the appreciation she was receiving but tried not to let it show.  “Sure, couldn’t let baby girl lose both her moms,” she shrugged it off like it was nothing.

Buffy knew it was hard for Faith to accept that she wasn’t the one raising her daughter and that Buffy was going to be her mom, so she knew how hard it was for Faith to admit it so easily with that last statement but there was something more to what she said that she felt the need to address.

“Faith she didn’t lose you.  You’re holding her right now aren’t you?” she tried to make a point, but seeing Faith didn’t really believe her.  “She’s gonna know you.  We’ll keep visiting and I talk to her about her Mama all the time.”

“Mama?”

Buffy just shrugged, “Well I figured it would be confusing if we were both Mommy, so we settled on Mama for you.  And by we, I mean me and Vaeh.  She smiled when I said it.”

Faith wanted to tease her about why she got to be “Mommy” but she was afraid Buffy would take it the wrong way so she didn’t.  She was just happy that the other girl was acknowledging her has Nevaeh’s mother to the baby.  She didn’t have to do that, and she certainly didn’t have to bring her up here all the time to visit. 

She wanted to tease her about something though so she settled on something else.  “I thought I was the one that always gives people nick names.  What’s up with this calling her Vaeh?”

“It just seemed easier,” Buffy said simply.  “I still call her Nevaeh too, just not all the time.”

Faith just smiled, seeing the defiant look in Buffy’s eyes.  “Alright, guess it’s better than calling her N like I would have done.”  She paused, there was so much she wanted to say to the other girl.  “Thanks B, for well everything.  For being so good about all this,” she said sincerely hoping the older girl would understand.

Buffy wasn’t really sure she even knew why she was doing it.  She knew when Faith sent the baby to her she expected Buffy to just cut her off.  She could have easily denied Faith even existed, but for some reason she just couldn’t.  “Look I know what it’s like to have a missing parent.  Only in my case my dad chose not to have anything to do with us.  You’re not making the same choice, you simply can’t be there every day.  I’m not gonna take that away from her.  I love her too and I want her to be happy.”

Faith didn’t respond just let that sink in and they moved on to less intense topics.  Buffy telling her to let Vaeh chew on her finger when she started to get fussy.  It felt weird to Faith but kinda cool, especially knowing it was helping to ease her daughters discomfort from teething.

“Luckily that works, since they won’t let me bring anything in for her to chew on.  I have some teething rings out in the car she likes to chew on.”

It was getting harder each time Faith had to hand the little girl over to Buffy, but she knew her girl was in good hands.  Buffy’s love for the baby showed in everything she did.  The two might not have a lot in common, but they both wanted the best for the daughter that they were basically sharing now.  How far they had come.

\--

The hot July sun shown down on the group as they all watched Nevaeh crawl across the sand.  The Magic Box was closed for the Fourth of July holiday and so the gang had decided it was the perfect day to take the baby out for her first trip to the beach.  They found her a cute little blue swim suit with pink and purple flowers all over it. 

Buffy had probably used a fourth of the bottle of sunscreen on the girl making sure she covered every inch of visible skin.  Although she had Faith’s skin tone so she was a little darker than Buffy herself, she still worried about her getting burned.

“Hey little runt, want to go get wet with Uncle Xander,” he asked the baby who just smiled at him.  Before he could pick her up however Buffy grabbed her and ran screaming, “don’t trust him baby he’ll throw you in.”  She wasn’t serious and they all could hear the teasing in her voice, knowing he’d never do that.

Buffy ran for the water stopping just before the edge.  Nevaeh loved bath time but that didn’t mean she’d love the ocean just as easily and she didn’t want to scare her.  She walked slowly out into the water keeping the baby above the water until she was about waist high.  From there she lowered Vaeh’s feet into the water, taking her cues from the baby and letting her explore the water on her own.

Knowing she was safe in her mom’s arms Nevaeh began to splash in the water just as she did in the bath tub.  Seeing her daughter wasn’t scared, Buffy began to move around with the baby, letting her really get wet.  Nevaeh loved every minute of it, squealing with laughter each time a wave rocked them back and forth.

Each member of the gang then took a turn playing with her in the water, leaving Buffy to sit and just enjoy watching her daughter have so much fun.  She was glad she remembered to bring her camera as she snapped picture after picture of the baby, intending to send them all to Faith.

It was several hours before they managed to pull the baby out of the water to eat some lunch.  “There’s my little fish,” Buffy exclaimed as she took Nevaeh from Willow to feed her.  “You having fun baby?” Buffy asked her.

Even as her mom fed her those nummy smushed apples and bananas that she like so much and she gummed down her crackers, Vaeh couldn’t take her eyes off the water.  As soon as she was done she began trying to crawl back to the water wanting to play again.  Buffy walked along side her but let her make her own way there. 

At almost seven months she was already starting to show signs of independence and while it made her sad, she wasn’t about to take it away from her.  She just stayed beside her allowing her to explore the water on her own.  She just watched to make sure she was safe.

Eventually the baby crawled into her lap curling up and falling asleep quickly.  Buffy stood up and walked back to where they were set up.  Wrapping the baby in a towel, she put her under the umbrella to let her sleep out of the sun.

“She’s such an angel when she’s sleeping,” Dawn said, she always tried to act as if the baby was such a pain, but everyone knew how much she loved her too. 

Buffy smiled, “She’s really had a good day today.  I’m surprised it took that long to fall asleep.”

Xander announced the burgers were done that he had been grilling and everyone began to fill their plate full as they sat around just enjoying the time together.  It wasn’t often they got days like this and Buffy was going to make the most of it.

They let Nevaeh play for a bit longer after she woke up.  Willow and Tara tried to build a sand castle with her and Xander took her swimming for awhile longer before they decided it was time to leave. 

Nevaeh was fast asleep again as they made their way into the house.  Buffy took her up to the room that was now just hers.  She had finally gotten the courage to sort through her mom’s stuff and take the master bedroom for herself.  They had then decorate the room for Nevaeh, painting the walls a light purple and putting her name on the far wall in block letters.  Toys now filled the room as well as a bookshelf full of kid books.

She changed the baby’s clothes and diaper as carefully as she could without waking her up before placing her in the crib and tucking her in.  Turning on the baby monitor, she hooked the other end onto her pants before making her way downstairs to make her a snack before she went to bed herself.


	7. Chapter 6- Birthdays (December 2001)

**Chapter 6**

“So I asked the birthday girl what she wanted she wanted most and she made it very clear that she wanted to see her Mama,” Buffy said seriously as soon as Faith walked into the room with a surprised look on her face.

Sure in the last year Faith and Buffy had become closer, almost like friends.  And the small blonde had brought the baby many times to see her, but she never expected for her to bring Nevaeh on her birthday.  She expected the other woman to plan some outlandish party for the baby and wouldn’t have time to even think about visiting the girl who sat in jail unable to partake.

She made her way to the table and sat down cautiously, the shock still having not worn off just yet.  She really shouldn’t be surprised she supposed, but Buffy never said anything about coming for Nevaeh’s birthday so she just figured she wasn’t going too.  She had planned on just having the next time she saw her daughter be her own personal birthday celebration for the little girl.

“We have another surprise for you too Mama, don’t we baby?” Buffy smiled as she kneeled down on the floor helping Nevaeh stand up.  “Go get Mama,” Buffy whispered in the baby’s ear before letting go.  They both watched as the one year old took a few hesitant steps forward making her way to Faith.

Faith put her arms out to the baby lifting her up into her lap as soon as the little girl reached her.  “You’re walking?  Oh my goodness baby, you’re growing so fast I can’t believe it.”  Faith couldn’t hold back the tears in her eyes and smiled down at the baby through her tears.

“She’s been trying for weeks now, but hasn’t made it more than a few steps.  That’s the most she’s walked.  I was hoping we’d be able to surprise you.” 

Faith turned the baby to stand up on her lap facing her, “Happy birthday Nevaeh, my big girl.”  Faith leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek and then pulled her into a bear hug.  “You certainly did surprise me, I wasn’t expecting you to come today.”

“Of course we’d be here.  It wouldn’t be her birthday without you,” Buffy just shrugged it off.  She didn’t realize Faith would be so emotional today.  She should have though, considering how emotional she was.  Their baby girl was already a year old, it didn’t seem possible that she had grown so fast.  “Here we have a present for you,” she said putting a wrapped package on the table.  “It was a pain to get in here they sent it through several scans and then I had to unwrap it and rewrap it before they’d let me bring it in here.”

“But it’s not my birthday,” Faith exclaimed as she pulled the packaged wrapped in Winnie the Pooh paper.

“I know, but you did give birth to her so you should get something to.  Plus I realized we must have missed your birthday.  When was it anyway?” Buffy asked, knowing there was still so much she didn’t know about this girl she shared so much with now.

“No big deal it was a few days ago.  She was born four days after my eighteenth birthday.”  Faith really didn’t need Buffy to make a big deal out of her birthday.  It was just another day to her, always had been.  Nobody ever celebrated the fact that she was born, no need to start now.

“You’re only nineteen?  I mean you acted so much older than me, so I really wasn’t sure, but with you being called after me I figured you were younger.  I just didn’t realize how much.”  The older slayer didn’t let herself think of their past much these days, but this information made her feel worse.  Faith was so young, only sixteen when all the graduation stuff went down.

“B, it’s not a big deal, really.  It is what it is.”  Somehow she knew exactly what Buffy was thinking right now and she just wanted to get her to stop.  There was no reason to go back there, at least not today.

Clearing her head, “Well as of this moment its officially your birthday too.  So open your present.  Oh and sorry about the paper, I had some left over after wrapping Veah’s presents and figured I wouldn’t let it go to waste.”

Faith just laughed, studying the green paper with the yellow bear all over it.  “It’s cool B, first birthday present I’ve ever gotten, only fitting I guess it’s wrapped in baby paper.”

Buffy smiled as she watched Faith carefully open the paper while trying to keep hold on Nevaeh at the same time.  Inside her heart was breaking for the poor little girl that never had a birthday present.  That was gonna change starting right now, even if she had to drag the entire gang to the prison, Faith was going to be celebrated next year.

“Oh wow B, this is awesome,” Faith exclaimed, flipping through the pages in the scrapbook.

“A lot of them are copies of pics I already sent you, but this time they’ve got captions and dates and stuff.  Then the last couple pages are studio pictures I had done for her first birthday.  She’s such a little performer already.”

Faith smiled seeing the last picture.  It was obvious it was a studio picture but it had Nevaeh with her hands in the air and smile on her face looking at the ball she just threw up.  “I wish I could get her something for her birthday.  I hate not being able to do stuff like that.”  She shut the book, trying not to let the tears fall even though the sadness and anger at herself was evident in her voice.

“It’s ok Faith, she won’t know the difference anyway.”  Buffy tried to calm the girl down.

“No but I will.  Sides I’ll be in here til she’s an adult, eventually she will.  If I would have known I was pregnant before I turned myself in I would have…” she trailed off putting her head down, not sure what she would have done.  It was probably better that she had anyway, who knows what kind of person she would have become if she didn’t get herself locked up.

Buffy reached out to cover Faith’s hand with her own.  “Hey, Faith look at me.”  Faith slowly lifted her head, not sure if she could look into the blonde’s eyes.  When she finally did, she saw something she had never seen before, she could see how much Buffy cared for her.  “I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it’s like for you.  But what you’re doing, it’s the right thing.  As for the present thing, just knowing you love her is going to mean more to her than some little toy or whatever that’ll she outgrow in a year anyway.”

She knew Buffy was right.  And she was gonna make sure Nevaeh knew how much she loved her.  Pulling her in closer to her chest, she leaned down to place a kiss in her hair.  “You’re right B.  When’d you become so grown up?”

“Oh I dunno probably the day a baby in a pink and purple outfit showed up on my doorstep.”

“Pink and purple?  Dude I knew Angel was a softy, but didn’t know he’d buy something so girly.”

“The car seat was pink too,” Buffy laughed to see the look on Faith’s face.

“Good thing I didn’t know, woulda never let him leave the hospital with her.”  Faith paused, remembering that day.  It was one of the hardest she’d ever had to live through. 

_Faith woke up to the cell doors opening to head down for breakfast.  She hadn’t slept well the night before.  Her back was killing her and she couldn’t wait to not be pregnant anymore, at the same time, she wasn’t ready for what she knew she had to do when the time came._

_Just as she reached the mess hall a pain gripped her stomach and she leaned over as she felt a splashing below her.  The guard who had seen the whole thing quickly talked into the walkie talkie on his shoulder as he went to Faith helping to hold her up.  Two female guards were there within a few minutes helping to escort her out to a waiting van.  The prison was small enough they’d have to transport her to the hospital in town._

_She had two guards standing over her for the entire ten hour labor she had to endure and two more outside her hospital room.  Where they thought she’d take off to while in labor she didn’t know.  They wouldn’t let any one in to be with her either, so instead she held the hand of a nurse as a doctor she had never seen told her to push.  Being and inmate meant you didn’t get a consistent OBGYN, instead just whoever they could find for each check up._

_She thought as a slayer she had experienced pain before, but nothing like this.  She begged for drugs but the guards who’s names she couldn’t remember wouldn’t allow it.  With a final push she felt the baby slip from her as the doctor announced it was a girl._

_She was able to hold her for a few short minutes while they waited for Angel to enter the room.  She had already signed the transfer of custody papers so they allowed him to come in only to take the baby._

_Holding the baby to her chest, she kissed her head whispering to her how much she loved her as she allowed the tears to flow.  Seeing the vampire enter the room she knew her time was almost up.  “You be good now Nevaeh, you be good for Angel.  He’s gonna take you to B, who’s gonna take good care of you I promise.  I love you.”  Kissing her one more time she handed her over to the man who looked almost as upset as she did about the situation._

_Watching them walk out of the room together, Faith laid down and cried until she couldn’t cry anymore.  The next morning she was released and sent back to prison, feeling as if the whole thing had been a horrible nightmare._

Buffy wasn’t sure where Faith’s head was just then, but she had a fairly good idea.  “Someday you’ll have to tell me about the day she was born.”

Faith just nodded her head, the memories having her too choked up to speak just then.  They both knew this visit was coming to end but neither girl was ready to leave just yet.  Giving Nevaeh a final kiss and hug and wishing her a happy birthday, she put her on the floor, “go back to mommy baby, I love you.”

Buffy knew there was something else she should tell Faith before she left, but after the emotional visit she figured it could wait until next time.  She reached down and picked up the wobbling toddler.  Holding her in one arm, she walked over and wrapped the other around Faith whispering in her ear, “Happy Birthday Faith.”  She didn’t even bother to see what Eddie’s reaction was who had been in the room the whole time, instead she just walked out, feeling good about this visit.

\--

It was almost five and Buffy was starting to get anxious.  She knew it was just her friends coming over, but she wanted to have a good party for Neveah.  The little one had taken a nap the whole way home from seeing Faith so she hoped she’d be able to make it through the party without being too cranky.  Maybe she should have saved the party for tomorrow she didn’t want to over excite Vaeh.  Well too late now.  They’d just have to take it easy tomorrow.

She felt a tug on her pants and look to see Nevaeh standing up holding on to her leg.  Once she had her mother’s attention she held her hands in the air signaling she wanted to be picked up.  “Aren’t you just getting to be a smarty.”  Buffy leaned down to grab her under the arms, placing her on her hip.  She started fussing with the little girl’s yellow dress.

Nevaeh put her little hands on Buffy’s cheeks, trying to get her mom’s attention.  “Moooma.”

Buffy stared at her daughter in shock, that was the first time she tried to say “mom.”  She’d baby talked like any other child with ‘mamas’ and ‘dadas’ but she had yet to try any words other than sounds.  “That’s right baby, I’m mom.  Say it again say ‘mom’.”

“Moomm,” she tried again sounding more like she was mooing but it was a start.  At Buffy’s smile Veah tried clapping her hands proud of herself.

“You’re growing up so fast, stop it.”  The blonde kissed the baby on the forehead before walking them into the living room.  She got the little girl settled on the floor with her toys before going back into the kitchen to make sure everything was ready.  Willow and Tara should be here soon and Xander and Anya were coming just as soon as he could get off work which should put them about fifteen minutes late.

She headed back into the living room in time to hear the door open and her red head best friend’s laughter at something her girlfriend said.  “Hey Buffy, where’s the birthday girl?”

“She’s in the…” Buffy didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence before her daughter came wobbling over to the witches holding her arms up to Willow.  Handing the packages she was carrying over to Buffy, Willow leaned down to pick up her favorite little girl in the world.

Willow was definitely one of Nevaeh’s favorite people, only coming in under both her mom’s.  Buffy wondered briefly wondered why that was, since Willow spent more time with her than Faith did.  In the end she decided their little girl was just smart enough to know who was who in her life.

“Aunty Willow got you some awesome presents,” the witch spoke to the little girl who just stared at her and yawned.

“She’s a little tired, we went to see Faith this morning and so the only nap she got was on the drive back,” Buffy explained.  “Hopefully she’ll last long enough to open her presents.  Maybe we should give her cake first, a little sugar to wake her up,” she teased.

Giles showed up a few minutes later, and Dawn came down as soon as she heard Xander and Anya arrive.  She wouldn’t let anyone know it, but she secretly loved the little girl to pieces.  Who didn’t fall in love with the midget the minute they met her.  She had Faith’s charisma that was for sure.

As soon as everyone was accounted for they watched as Buffy helped Vaeh open her presents.  The younger one more interested in trying to eat all the paper.  Xander and Anya gave her a bunch of noisy toys as well a toy hard hat and tool belt.  Giles unsure of what to get an infant got her a stuffed animal and gave Buffy a check to get her whatever she wanted.

Willow and Tara got her several outfits and a witches dress and hat.  It was the last present though that Buffy loved, it was a story book that had Nevaeh’s name as the princess in the book.  “Where did you get the book?”

“Oh this great children’s website.  You just fill out a form with the kids name and if you want like a girl book or boy book and then they print it for you.  We got all her stuff online actually, more options that way,” Willow added.

The mention of buying online was giving Buffy ideas.  She remembered how upset Faith was over not being able to get her daughter a gift.  She was sure the prison allowed them to use computers.  Maybe there was a way for Faith to shop for her.  Even just to pick something out and give Buffy the money and she’d buy it for her.  She made a note to mention it to the brunette next time she talked to her.

She opened the presents from Buffy and Dawn last.  While Buffy did most of the shopping her sister helped pick out a few things.  They got several new outfits and a few toys.  As well as a new blanket and a doll in a stroller, which Buffy thought would be good to help her with walking if she tried to push it around.

With Christmas just a week away they saved her larger presents for then, but they had also picked out a playhouse for outside as well as a toddler sized tricycle as kind of a joint present.  They were hoping Xander would get a chance to put them together for her before Christmas. 

They were by no means rich, but with the help of Angel and Faith they were able to spoil the cutie just a little bit.  That’s another thing she should have mentioned to Faith, that sending them money allowed her to buy more presents so in a way she did get her something.  Isn’t it just the way it goes, that you have so many thoughts pop into your head long after the situation is over.

Buffy had one other present, but it would probably mean more to those here than the little girl.  She walked over to the desk along the wall and pulled out a folder.  “I got this a few days ago but I wanted to wait ‘til today to share it.  As of a week ago Nevaeh officially became a Summers, her adoption was finalized.”

Everyone voiced their congratulations as Buffy bent down to her daughter.  “Welcome to the family Nevaeh Anne Lehane Summers.”  Nevaeh wasn’t sure why her mom was crying and hugging her tight, but she loved every moment of it.  Trying to give her mom a kiss, she opened her mother covering the other woman’s nose.  Buffy just laughed.  “I love you too baby.”

Buffy walked along side her daughter holding her hand as they made their way into the kitchen.  Picking her up, she stood her up on the counter pulling her dress over her head not wanting it to get messy.  She strapped the diapered girl into her highchair as the group began a chorus of happy birthday.  The little one clapped her hands, excited to be the center of attention.

Buffy placed a small cake in front of her with a one shaped candle down on the tray.  She helped the baby blow it out as Dawn snapped off several pictures of the scene.  As soon as the candle was gone they let the baby demolish her own person cake while the other’s grabbed themselves a piece from the second cake as well as some ice cream.

Every now and then Buffy would snap a picture to show her progress on the cake.  About half way through she noticed the small one’s head bobbing up and down as she tried hard to stay awake and finish the yummy cake.

“I think someone’s ready for bed,” Buffy told the group, before lifting her daughter into her arms.  “I’m just gonna go clean her up and put her down for the night.  I’ll be back.”

Buffy headed up to the bathroom and tried as best as she could to wash all the frosting off with just a wash clothe.  “Guess the bath will have to wait until morning huh tired girl?  You had a busy day today.”  By the time she got her in her pajamas and into the crib she was fast asleep.

Everyone was still in the kitchen just chatting when she headed back down.  Her ice cream was long melted so she grabbed herself a new scoop before she started eating again.  “You guys know I went to visit Faith this morning.  Well I found out her birthday was four days ago and she told me no one has ever celebrated her birthday before.  Never even gotten a present.  I was just thinking, next year we should do something special for her.”

“Sure Buff, anything,” Xander chimed in

“We can do better than that,” Willow said next.  “I mean if she’s never had a birthday, she’s probably never had a Christmas either, so let’s see what we can do.”

Buffy just smiled she should have known they would follow her lead.  Nevaeh’s very existence  has helped them all to forgive the dark slayer for the past.  She didn’t know what they could pull off in a week, but she’d call the prison and find out if they could do something for her.  Suddenly Christmas seemed so much more exciting.


	8. Chapter 7- Planning (December 2001)

**Chapter 7**

Buffy called the prison first thing the next morning, excited that she could do something for the other girl.  She was surprised by how much they would allow them to do because of it being Christmas.  Although they were only allowed to visit for an hour in a room they had to put in a request for a reservation.  Buffy was amazed to find they did have some openings left and was glad they hadn’t missed their chance by putting this together less than a week before the holiday.  They were asked to keep the groups small though, and no more than twelve people.  Including the LA crew if she could get them they would have just about that many people.

They were allowed to have presents so long as they were on the prison’s approved items list.  To help the day go smoother for security though, they asked that they didn’t wrap them before hand.  They could bring the supplies to do so afterwards if they wished.  Food was also allowed so long as it was unopened and store bought and clear what it was.

More than happy about the information she had received, Buffy walked over to Nevaeh who was playing with her new toys on the floor in the living room.  A smile filled her face as she watched her daughter move the toys around on the floor as if she knew exactly what they should be doing.  The little girl was the most precious thing Buffy had ever been given and she was so grateful to have her in her life.  Faith was a big part of that and she could never repay the other girl for this gift, but she wanted to try.

Nevaeh hadn’t bothered a glance in her direction yet.  She knew her mom was there, but she was too busy to stop playing.  A calm peace and sense of security always came over her when her mom entered the room, so she never needed to look to know her mom was with her.  She also felt a small tingle all over her body, the same one she felt when she was with her Mama but that one was stronger.  She wished she could express this to her moms, but she didn’t have the words yet.

Buffy squatted down next to her baby and gently ran her hands through the girl’s soft dark curls.  “Hey baby, want to go to the Magic Box and talk to Aunties Willow and Tara about the party for Mama?”

Nevaeh turned her head to look at her mom then.  “Maaama,” the one year old tried to question.

Picking the little girl up to settle on her left hip, she began to head upstairs to find the little girls shoes.  “We’ll see Mama next week, right now we gotta plan a surprise for her.  You want to help?”  Buffy couldn’t help but laugh when her daughter vigorously nodded her head yes.  It was something she started doing whenever she was asked a question.  She knew the little girl didn’t know the difference between yes and no just yet, but she seemed to know what a question was and when to answer with one or the other.

Setting her down on the bedroom floor, she went over to the closet and began looking for the little white and pink sketchers Vaeh loved so much.  They seemed to help the little girl keep her balance enough to practice walking as well.  Grabbing them up off the floor of the closet she walked over to where Vaeh sat waiting for her and kneeled down in front of her slipping her shoes on.  As soon as Buffy’s shoes were on, the two headed out the door.

The sight that greeted Buffy when she entered the Magic Box always brought a smile to her face.  The store was void of any customers at the moment so the gang was gathered around the research table chatting and enjoying themselves.  These people were more than her friends, they were her family and they seemed to find comfort in just being together.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Buffy asked them as she sat Vaeh down in the booster seat that had been added to the table last month.  The baby had gotten bored of playing in her playpen all by herself and would cry whenever they put her in there anymore, unless she was asleep of course.  She seemed quite content in the booster seat though, feeling as if she was a part of the group.

“Who’s looking so cute today?” Willow baby talked to Nevaeh getting a smile in return.  The little girl pounded her hands on the table several times until Xander gave her some of the chips he was currently eating.  The little stinker sure knew how to work the adults Buffy thought to herself.

“Hey, so I called the prison this morning and found out what we could do, and I think I got a fairly workable plan.”  Buffy took a seat at the table and continued to tell them all she’d learned and what she thought they should and shouldn’t do.  Occasionally Anya or Giles would get up to help a customer, but for the most part they all sat there and planned.

It wasn’t until Buffy felt they had everything thought out that she noticed her little girl fast asleep in the booster seat.  Carefully as possible she pulled Vaeh into her arms to sleep more comfortably.  “I was gonna go shopping for Faith’s presents but I guess I’ll wait til she wakes up now.”

“You can leave her here, we’ll watch her Buffy,” Willow volunteered.

Buffy looked down at the slumbering toddler, “No that’s ok, I don’t like to leave her more than I have to.”  It was the truth, Buffy hated having to leave her to patrol or for any other reason the baby couldn’t come with her, she wasn’t gonna leave her when she didn’t have to.  It’s not that she didn’t trust her friends, she just didn’t want to lose any moment of the child’s life she didn’t have to.

“I’m not really sure what to get her either.  I want to get her something from Nevaeh though, so she should be there when I pick it out anyway.”  Trying to move as smooth as possible so as not to wake her daughter, Buffy stood up asking Xander if he’d move the playpen in the back room so she could have her close by while she trained.

Knowing her girl was a deep sleeper just like her Mama, she turned on some music and went to work on the punching bag, before doing some target practicing.  More than two hours went by before Buffy heard movement coming from the baby across the room.

“Moom,” Vaeh cried, rubbing her eyes as she stood up in the playpen.

“What baby?” she asked stepping closer.  Instead of an answer, the little girl just put her hands in the air signalling she wanted to get picked up.  “Hope you don’t mind Mommy’s a little sweaty.”  The little girl responded by curling into Buffy’s shoulder.  If she was a thumb sucker it would probably be in her mouth, as she seemed to almost fall back asleep.  “Guess that answers that question.”

Buffy managed to pass her off to Willow long enough to wash up in the bathroom and change her clothes.  Nevaeh let out a loud “Moom” just as she had barely stepped back into the room.  She went right over and took her from Willow.  As soon as she did, Vaeh tucked herself right back into her place against Buffy’s shoulder and sighed in contentment.

“That’s weird, she’s not usually so clingy.”  Buffy hoped she wasn’t getting sick.  That was the last thing they needed the week before Christmas.  “Should we go buy Mama some presents?”

Nevaeh perked her head right up to look at her mom, “Mama!”

“Shoot I gotta quit doing that.”  Buffy noticed she was getting a few confused looks from the gang.  “Seems like lately every time I say ‘Mama’, she thinks that means we’re going to see Faith.  Need to figure out how to talk about Faith without disappointing her when we don’t go see her.”

None of the gang had really been around kids before Nevaeh came into their lives, so no one really had any suggestions for her.  They were all learning the whole parenting thing together.  “Let’s go change your diaper, then we’ll hit the mall.  Sound good?” Buffy said trying to sound as excited as possible, hoping the baby would forget about the other thing she said.

\--

The day after Nevaeh’s birthday, Faith spent it sitting in her cell flipping through the pages in the scrap book B had given her.  She couldn’t believe that the blonde had gone to so much trouble for her.  Things between them were definitely a lot different than what she expected them to be when she sent the baby to live with her.

Every picture made her smile or laugh.  The captions Buffy had added to each one helped her feel closer to her daughter.  One showed her wearing Xander’s hard hat somewhat crookedly on her head and smiling at the camera for all to see.  Some of them had one or more of the Scooby gang playing with her or just holding her.  The kid was obviously spoiled rotten.  The relief and joy in her heart could not even begin to express what she was feeling at knowing her little girl was getting the life she never got.

One of the last ones in the book was of Buffy and Nevaeh together.  Nevaeh’s hands were on Buffy’s cheek, as if she was holding her in place while she pulled faces, making the blonde laugh.  Anybody would have to be blind not to see the connection the two had made together.

She knew that Buffy loved Nevaeh as her own.  It just hadn’t occurred to her until that moment how true that was for her daughter as well.  The two of them were a family, one she couldn’t be a part of because of circumstance.

She believed Buffy when she said that she’d make sure Nevaeh knew her.  She’d proved it time and again over the last year by making the long drive up there to visit with her.  If the situation was reversed she wasn’t so sure she’d do the same.  Maybe she would, but she couldn’t say for sure.

It was almost weird how close they had become as well.  She’d almost go so far as to call Buffy a friend now.  Which, considering their history, was kind of insane but it was what it was.  Friend didn’t seem like a strong enough word to describe their relationship though.

The dinner bell rang and Faith knew she probably needed to go get something to eat since she hadn’t left her cell all day.  Stashing the book where it wasn’t so easily seen, she made her way out of her cell and down to the mess hall.

She wasn’t surprised when she saw what was for dinner.  She could only describe it as goop.  They really needed to serve them more protein and carbohydrates around here.  Yeah she wasn’t book smart by any means, but she knew her foods.  Definitely one of life’s pleasures that got taken away when you were in the joint.

“So, saw your little girl again yesterday,” Joey stated more than asked, as she sat down next to her.

Faith smiled, “Yeah, it was her birthday, B brought her up just to see me.”  She loved talking about her baby whenever she could, but she hated that she couldn’t stop herself from dropping the bad ass persona when she did.  You couldn’t be tough and talk about your kid at the same time she’d decided.

“ You sure there isn’t more going on between you and this B?  Sure seems like there is.”

“Nah, too much history between us.  ‘Sides neither of us are gay,” she shrugged.

“Alright, if you say so.  Think you’ll see them again for Christmas?”

The minute the words left Joey’s mouth Faith became depressed.  She’d almost forgotten Christmas was almost here.  Another holiday she’d miss out on spending with her daughter.  “Probably not, since B just came up here and it’s a bitch of a drive.”

“That sucks man.”

She didn’t bother to respond after that.  She finished her dinner as quickly as she could so she could get out of there.  Wanting to be alone with her thoughts once more.

\--

Later that night Buffy crashed on the couch after putting Vaeh down for the night.  She felt her day had been fairly successful.  She’d bought Faith a new portable CD player, remembering how much the other girl loved the one she had when she was in Sunnydale, as well as some CDs she thought she’d like.  She found a few other small items as well that were all on the prison approved items list. 

Finding something to give her just from Nevaeh was the truly hard part.  After talking to several sales ladies in several different stores, she finally figured out just want she wanted to do.  She couldn’t wait to see the look on Faith’s face when she saw what they had for her.

She knew she should go to bed, the day had been long and Nevaeh would likely be up bright and early the next morning but she was too wired to sleep.  She thought about calling Willow over to baby-sit and going out patrolling, but Spike had already volunteered to handle that chore for the night so there really wasn’t any need.

She realized sitting there though that she hadn’t had any negative feelings towards Faith in longer than she could remember.  They were…dare she even think it, they were almost friends.  If she was honest, they were more than that, they were essentially raising a child together so they were more like a couple.  _No definitely not a couple, that’s just, NO._   Friends they were friends.  It was ok to be friends.

Checking on the sleeping infant one more time, Buffy headed into bed, wanting to chase away the thoughts filling her mind.  Tomorrow she’d call and see if she could talk to Faith about helping her buy presents if she wanted too.


	9. Chapter 8- Christmas (December 2001)

**Chapter 8**

“Hey, Faith, let’s move it,” Eddie called from where he stood outside her cell. No need to unlock it, as all the inmates were free to roam right now with it being Christmas and all. Faith chose to spend the day lying in her bunk thinking about her daughter however.

“Come on girl,” Eddie tried again when she still hadn’t moved, motioning down the hall.

Faith grudgingly sat up, swinging her feet to the floor. “Where are we going?” She didn’t know why Eddie wanted her to follow him. Couldn’t he just leave her alone with her thoughts? It was Christmas after all, she should be free to just sit and contemplate her life if she so chose to.

“It’s a surprise,” Eddie smiled. He was happy to get to do this for his favorite prisoner. It wasn’t often an inmate got to be surprised, only because he was the one that took the call from the blonde friend of Faith’s was it possible to keep it hidden from her.

Faith thought she had an idea of where they could be going, but it just didn’t make any sense. Buffy wouldn’t show up here again today and Angel had never visited her on Christmas before. ‘Sides that, today rooms were reserved for family celebrations. Not like she’d get to have that.

She wasn’t prepared when Eddie opened the door leading her into a room that not only held Buffy and Angel but pretty much everyone she knew in California. “Merry Christmas,” they all chorused together making the brunette let out a small smile. She wasn’t sure she still entirely believed this wasn’t some dream.

“Mama,” Nevaeh squealed from her place in Buffy’s arms. The toddler reached out with her arms, wanting to get to Faith, making it hard for Buffy to hold on to her. 

Seeing this snapped Faith back into reality and she walked over to relieve Buffy of the struggling toddler, settling her on her own hip. “Hey baby, Merry Christmas,” she spoke to the little girl, placing a soft kiss in her hair. “I can’t believe ya guys are here.”

“Of course, we couldn’t let you spend Christmas alone,” Willow told her, walking up to her and giving her an awkward hug. “Besides we’d go where ever this little cutie was, and she needs to be here, with her Mama.” Willow touched the little girl on the nose getting a smile out of them both.

“Well let’s get this party started. Hate to be a downer but we are on a time limit,” Xander spoke up.

“They wouldn’t let us make a lunch but we could bring some goodies, so we have cookies and all kinds of candy,” Buffy told the younger girl. “Get you something to munch on and we’ll give you your presents.”

Faith was floored to say the least. It was one thing for them to show up here today, but that they brought her gifts. “Ya guys didn’t have to do that.”

“We wanted to,” Buffy told her then leaned in close so only Faith could hear her, “It took some convincing the guards, but I also brought the presents you picked out for Vaeh on the phone the other day. Figured you could give them to her yourself.”

“Man, B.” Faith didn’t have a chance to say much else as the tears she had been trying to hold in came out. A year ago she would have beat herself up for even thinking about crying in public. Now, here, it just didn’t seem to matter. These people were the closest thing she had to family if you could call them that.

Buffy put her arms on the taller girl’s shoulders and steered her over to the table and helped her sit down with Nevaeh still in her arms. Angel was right behind them sitting a paper plate full of every goody they had brought in front of her.

“Where’s Vaeh’s presents? I want to see her open those up first.”

“Alright but let me warn you,” Buffy started, sitting the wrapped packages down in front of Faith, “if her birthday was any indication, she hasn’t quite got the hang of it yet.”

“It’s aight, we got this. Huh, baby doll?” The toddler nodded her head yes at Faith. “K, these are from Mama. Let’s see what we got here.” Faith looked over the package trying to find the best place to help her start on the bigger package. With her help, the two of them made quick work of the wrapping paper. Inside the box was a kitchen set geared for toddlers, soft squishy food and dishes that were made out of a soft plastic.

“Leave it to Faith to pick a toy involving food for her kid. Guess we should all be glad it wasn’t mini stakes and crossbows,” Xander joked.

Faith ignored him and opened out the box pulling out some of the toys inside, letting her daughter check them out. She tried to move them out of the way so they could open the smaller package but Nevaeh squealed in protest. “Hey, look, ‘nother present,” she tried to tell her. The toddler protested for another minute until Faith ripped open a part of the paper. The two Lehane girls then began to look over the book entitled “Mama Loves You” that was inside.

After they had read through the whole book twice, the presents for Faith began to make their way onto the table before them. Faith let Vaeh help her open them. She couldn’t believe how much these people had spent on her and thinking about her. Angel and company gave her a set of books on meditation and tai chi. Giles followed up by giving her an encyclopedia of demons, leaving her to wonder what the guards had to say and why he’d give it to her.

“I thought you know someday when you get out, you might like to keep fresh on what’s out there,” he tried to explain.

Xander and Anya gave her a few comic books that he knew she liked from their talks in Sunnydale. Willow and Tara gave her a beautifully decorated Journal and pens, as well as some notebooks. She wanted to give Buffy a great big hug when she opened the CD player, she had missed listening to her tunes being in this place. Most of the CDs she hadn’t heard of, but she was anxious to check them out. Buffy also gave her a set of envelopes with the postage already on them. “I thought maybe you’d want to start writing letters to Vaeh, not just me,” she shrugged.

Faith thought she had gone through everyone when Buffy produced one last present and placed it before her. “This one is from Nevaeh.”

Picking up the package, she tried to figure out what it was, but she couldn’t tell. It was heavy and flat. Pulling the paper back carefully, she found hard square tile of some sort inside. Flipping it over she found Nevaeh’s handprints imprinted into the plaster tile. Her name engraved above them and the year below.

“This is awesome, B!” Faith exclaimed.

“She’s growing so fast, figured you’d want something to remember how small she started out.”

Faith choked back all the emotions she was feeling at the moment. Standing up she went around and gave everyone a hesitant hug. “Thank you, guys. Really mean that. I’ve never had a Christmas before.”

“Well you should thank Buffy, she’s the one that got us all here,” Angel told her. “Not big on holidays you know, but when she told me she wanted to surprise you. Well, we had to help her do it.”

“Wasn’t easy, only reason I pulled it off without them informing you is ‘cause Eddie was the one that answered when I called. He told me it was procedure to discuss the rules with the inmates, but he’d just pretend he did. He knew you wouldn’t do anything to cause trouble.”

Faith made her way over to Buffy and gave her another hug, this one more intense. “Thank you, B, this is just, can’t believe it ya know? I feel like any minute I’m gonna wake up in my bunk and it’ll all be a dream.”

“It was nothing really. Only fair Nevaeh spent the day here with you. I’m sorry we didn’t come up last year, but ya know kinda, sideswiped me with the baby thing.”

“I get it. But turned out for the best I think.” Faith looked around the room at all the people who chose to come and spend Christmas with her. They probably had better things to do. They certainly didn’t have to be here, and yet they were.

The group had began to break up into groups, chatting quietly, catching each other up on what’s all been going on. She just let the scene around her soothe her and she moved to where Nevaeh’s toys were and started playing with the little girl.

Growing up the way she had never really left time for playing, but she was happy to do so with her daughter now. She set the toy plates out and filled them up with food, as if they were sitting down for a meal. She laughed as Vaeh tried to stuff the toy food in both their mouths and pulled a face when she realized it wasn’t real food. Didn’t seem to bug her though and she just went right back to playing. Switching the foods around so only the green foods were on her own plate.

“Like green, do ya, munchkin?” The baby nodded her head yes. “Do you really like green or are you just nodding your head like B told me ya do?” she tried again only to get the same response. “You’re no help. Good thing I love ya huh?” Nevaeh nodded her head again, turning in Faith’s lap so she could try and give her a kiss.

Seeing what her daughter was doing, she leaned down, giving the baby a quick kiss on the lips, before pulling her to her to give her a great big hug. The little girl laid her head on her Mama’s shoulder closing her eyes, making a noise of contentment. She wished she could be with her Mama all the time. The tingles running through her little body quickly lulling her to sleep on Faith’s shoulder.

Faith started running her hands up and down the little girl’s back, realizing she had fallen asleep.  She knew it was passed the girl’s nap time, and with the drive up here and all the excitement, she was surprised she lasted as long as she did.

“Want me to take her?” Buffy asked, noticing what had happened.

“Nah, it’s ok. I got her. Don’t want to disturb her.” Faith lowered her into her lap so that she could sleep more comfortably. She knew their time was almost up anyway and she wanted to spend every minute she could with the girl that held her heart. “Mama loves you, baby,” she whispered, sure the only one that heard her was Buffy.

“It’s been so good to visit with you this way. Unsupervised and free to move around. Wish it could be this way every time,” Buffy said sadly.

“Yeah me too, B. Least we got Eddie letting us break some of the rules,” she smirked.

“Well still,” the blonde let that sentence hang, instead reaching out to give Faith another hug. She couldn’t say why the two of them were so huggy today. It just seemed to feel right to the both of them.

When the guards came to tell them to clear out the room, nobody was ready to leave. This wasn’t just a day with Faith, it was the first time they’d had the whole gang together in far too long. Now the LA gang would go back to LA and the Scoobies would go back to Sunnydale.

Everyone grabbed what they could, before heading out, leaving just the three of them in the room. Faith reluctantly handed over a still sleeping Nevaeh to Buffy. “We’ll be back soon, I promise.”

“I know, it just sucks,” Faith complained. “I miss out on so much of her life. I never wanted kids but now that I have one, all I want is to be with her.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I wish things could be different for you.” She was honest but inside she was feeling a bit selfish, glad that she was the one that was raising Nevaeh. She knew that wasn’t fair though, without Faith there was no Nevaeh. “Maybe you shouldn’t be in here,” she said seriously. She could see that Faith had changed, she didn’t really deserve to be here anymore.

“Nah, I’m where I’m supposed to be. Paying for my crime and all that.”

“But things are different now, you’re different now.”

The younger girl shook her head no, “doesn’t matter I still gotta pay the consequences. I just hate it that’s all. I’ll get over it.”

“Girls, you need to clear out,” Eddie said, poking his head in the door.

“Aight, we’re moving,” she answered. Leaning down, she gave Nevaeh a kiss on her head where she rested in Buffy’s arms. Putting a hand on Buffy’s arm, “Thanks, B. See ya, aight?”

Buffy could only nod her head, as she watched the girl grab her things and exit the room. She followed shortly behind her. Everyone was already out in the car waiting for her when she got there. Hooking Nevaeh into her car seat she slipped in beside her. As soon as her seat belt was on Giles started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Buffy turned her head to stare out the window, her thoughts never far from the girl inside the prison walls the entire way home.

Faith trudged back to her cell carrying the presents she had been given. Sitting the books and pens on the small shelf, she moved over to her bunk, putting Nevaeh’s handprints just above her bed. Lying down, she slipped the first CD into the player and stuck the headphones on her ears, effectively drowning out the rest of the world.


	10. Chapter 9- Trapped (January 2002)

**Chapter 9**

It took some convincing, but Buffy finally managed to talk Dawn into baby-sitting tonight while she went out on patrol. Normally she’d leave Nevaeh with Willow and Tara or Xander and Anya, but they were all busy tonight and couldn’t do it. There was a demon loose that was creating some havoc and she really needed to get out there and find him.

Dawn was old enough now to help out by watching her niece from time to time. At thirteen months old, the little girl was pretty easy to care for, especially since she was already in bed and would likely sleep the whole time Buffy was gone. Every now and then she’d wake up in the middle of the night with a nightmare but those instances were few and far between.

She wasn’t sure what was up with Dawn lately but the girl was definitely acting differently. She knew having a baby in the house was an adjustment, but she thought they were all past that now. Something about how the girl was acting was just bugging her but she couldn’t seem to put her finger on just what it was.

Wandering through the cemetery, lost in thought, Buffy barely managed to hear something sneak up behind her and duck before the demon’s sword could hit her. Swinging around she managed to stop the next attack with her double-edged ax, but the sword sent it flying out of her hand and onto the ground out of reach.

Left without any weapons, she grabbed the ugly thing’s arm as it made another attempt to slice her in half, but just before she could hit him, the thing disappeared leaving her empty handed. The thing reappeared, trying to take her by surprise, but she was ready for him, kicking him several times in the chest finally knocking his sword into the air. She caught it just in time to stab him in the chest with his own sword before he could strike out again.

The contact created a powerful blast knocking her several feet away. Face down on the ground she didn’t see as the creature was sucked into the sword. “Oh, shiny.” Thinking she could add the sword to her ever growing collection, she picked it up and headed home.

\--

Seated at the buffet in the kitchen, Buffy watched as Anya put together the snacks for the night’s party. Buffy hated celebrating another birthday but they had talked her into it. She only agreed so long as they promised it was just the group of them. She didn’t want a party where no one even knew her name, or one where demons crashed the whole thing. Nope just her and the people she cared about.

“Think ya got enough food there, Anya? I mean it is only the seven of us since Giles is away, and Vaeh probably shouldn’t count since I doubt she’ll eat any of that,” Buffy finished.

“Well ya know Buff, we all know you slayers like your food,” Xander answered quickly.

“Well, well, we also invited someone for you, a guy,” Anya stated in her blunt way.

Dawn choosing that moment to walk in the room, “For Buffy? Really?”

“Don’t worry it’s not a setup,” Xander tried to reassure, hoping Buffy wouldn’t kill him.

“Nope, just an attractive single man with whom we hope you find much in common. And if you happen to form a romantic relationship, leading to babies and many double dates with us, so we have someone else to talk to…yea!” Anya babbled on, not noticing Xander trying to get her to shut up.

Buffy wanted to be mad at her friends, how could they understand what was going on in her head though? “Well, I already have one baby, and you do realize guys our age typically don’t go for the whole set family thing right?”

“Oh, um,” Anya stopped not sure how to respond, it certainly hadn’t occurred to her or Xander either that Nevaeh was now part of some package deal.

“Look you guys, thanks for the thought, but I got all I can handle right now with taking care of Vaeh. I just don’t have time for dating.”

Anya wasn’t ready to let their idea just die though. “Not even just an orgasm buddy that doesn’t require commitment?”

“And with that thought, I’m just gonna go find my daughter.” Slipping off the stool, Buffy headed for the other room where the toddler was last seen playing with her toys.

Fifteen minutes later, she was too busy enjoying just spending time with her little girl to notice when the room suddenly became full with three newcomers. Spike had decided to crash the party, dragging Clem along with. Everyone knew of the chipped vampire’s love for the slayer, but he just couldn’t seem to get the hint that she just wasn’t interested. Instead, lately he had been trying his hardest to be around her every minute he could.

“Buffy, this is Richard,” Xander introduced the dirty blonde newcomer. He liked the guy, but after what Buffy said, was no longer sure that inviting him was a good idea. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Buffy didn’t just need someone, Nevaeh did too, and that required a whole different kind of setup.

An awkward silence filled the room as everyone seemed to study everyone else. The silence was broken when the tiny tot let out a whine, realizing she no longer had her mother’s attention, who had up until that point been helping her make a tower. “I’m sorry baby, mommy got sidetracked,” she kissed the little girl on the top of her head, before picking up another block. She knew the comment to her daughter was also pointed at the newcomer. She didn’t know how much he knew about her friend’s intentions, but she wanted to make it clear if he had any ideas about her, that he realized she was a packaged deal.

Hearing that Buffy was a mom, left Richard a little uncomfortable. Xander hadn’t mentioned that to him when he’d been invited. Not that he didn’t like kids, but dating a mom was a whole different story, even if she was a MILF. The little girl didn’t look a thing like her though, so he had to wonder about the girl’s father.

Dawn, impatient to get on with the night, chose that moment to suggest that Buffy opened presents. Tara and Willow had tried to find something for Buffy from Nevaeh, but when they couldn’t find something to buy, they ended up making a collage of the little girl’s pictures and putting it in a frame with a card they let the toddler color on.

Saving her present for last, Dawn handed over the box from her, watching with excitement as Buffy opened the new black leather jacket. “Do you like it?”

“It’s gorgeous,” Buffy admitted, wondering how her sister had gotten something so nice for her.

Smile plastered on her face, “I was nervous. I wasn’t sure you’d like it.”

Moving the jacket around in the box, she noticed something on the sleeve, “It still has the security tag on it.”

“Huh. That’s so weird,” she answered cautiously. Something wasn’t adding up in Buffy’s mind, she just couldn’t seem to put it all together. The moment was lost when Xander rolled in a beautiful new weapons chest, with CD holder.

Soon after, cake was eaten and games began to take up residence around the room. No one seemed eager to leave so when Dawn suggested a slumber party, everyone just went with the idea and continued what they were doing.

At some point Nevaeh had crashed out in Buffy’s lap while they had been playing Monopoly, so she excused herself to carry the little girl upstairs. She changed her into her pj’s as gently as she could, before placing her in her crib. She sat there watching her sleep for awhile, not wanting to leave the room just yet. She hated birthdays, but if it meant one more year with this little angel she was all for it. Kissing her fingers and placing them delicately on the slumbering baby’s head, she walked out of the room quietly.

\--

Faith had been in her cell all day thinking about Buffy and Nevaeh. She knew it was Buffy’s birthday today. She remembered from her days in Sunnydale what day it was. She kept debating whether she should call and wish the girl a good one or not.

She had only exchanged letters and one short phone call since Christmas. It had only been a few weeks, but still she missed her daughter terribly. She knew that Buffy couldn’t make it up there all the time though, she had a job and friends and well, a life. Something the brunette no longer did. She couldn’t expect the other slayer just to drop everything to come see her because she lived for those moments when they came to visit.

Still it wouldn’t be right to ignore the older girl on her birthday. Getting up she made her way over to the phone the prisoners were allowed to use. There was a line as phone time was coming to a close for the night. She took her place behind two other girls and waited her turn. Their calls seemed to go on forever, even though she knew they weren’t more than the ten minutes they were allowed this late at night.

Dialing the number she now knew by heart, she was surprised when the call wouldn’t go through. Thinking she had the number wrong, she tried again, but still there was no ringing. She tried Angel’s place to see if he knew what was going on, and while the phone did ring this time, there was no answer. Shuffling out of line to allow the next person in, she wandered back to her cell. She’d just have to try Buffy’s house again the next day and if she still got no answer she supposed she’d try Angel’s again.

Until then all she could do was wait and wonder.

\--

Morning came and a few had fallen asleep on the couches, but most were still wide awake watching the early morning cartoons that had started. Richard reminded Xander that they both needed to head into work, but neither could seem to move from the spot they were in.

It was then they all began to realize something wasn’t right. Something was keeping them locked away together and no one could figure out how to leave. Upset that everyone would rather leave then stay there with her once again, Dawn threw a fit before storming out of the room.

The scoobies tried to question her if she knew what was going on, but the teenager became defensive, feeling as if they were attacking her. The tension in the room began to escalate as Dawn insisted that she didn’t do anything, but they just wouldn’t leave her alone about it. Realizing they weren’t getting anywhere with her, they all left her alone.

While they had been upstairs, Tara had been checking the phones and other ways to get out, but came to the conclusion they were stuck and cut off from the world just mere feet outside the door.

“She’s just so angry,” Buffy exclaimed, not being able to get past the way Dawn had acted upstairs.

“It happens. We all went through it,” Tara tried to reassure her, remembering what it was like to be a teenager.

“I know. I just can’t figure out why she didn’t come to me.” Trying to think back over the past few months, she knew Dawn had been acting differently, but she couldn’t remember if there was a time where the teen had tried to talk to her about it.

“Well you have been a little busy lately,” Xander reasoned. Between her duties as a slayer and her duties as a mother, she reasoned she hadn’t been paying as much attention to her sister as she used to. It seemed Dawn was beginning to feel neglected and she wasn’t sure what to do about that. First they needed to figure out how to get everyone out of the house.

Deciding magic was their best bet, Tara offered to try something. Willow had been trying to control her magic and wasn’t sure she dared try. It hadn’t yet become a problem, but it was starting to create tension in her relationship with Tara and she wanted her girlfriend more than she wanted more power.

Magic filled the air in the house, but still no one could get to the door to open it. Everyone failed to notice the magic surround the sword that still sat there in the living room, where Buffy had placed out of Nevaeh’s reach.

The sound of growling turned everyone’s attention from the door to the red demon now standing there, weapon in hand ready to attack. Everyone went running from the room, but not before the thing could slice Richard in the chest, who was unaware of the danger he was in.

Buffy ran in and tackled the thing to the floor, only to have it disappear on her once again. As the demon reappeared and came after Buffy again, she heard a “mommy,” as Nevaeh began to cry from her place in Willow’s arms. She wanted to comfort her daughter but couldn’t until this thing was taken care of.

Willow tried to rock and comfort the little girl, but she was having none of that. The demon then seemed to take notice of the child and began to make his way over to her. Buffy placed a kick into his stomach sending him flying before it disappeared again. They were relieved when he didn’t come back this time, but knew he couldn’t have gone far, leaving them with another worry.

\--

Night fell and still they hadn’t made any progress in getting out. At least the creature hadn’t come back, but it was only a matter of time before he did. Buffy stayed close to Nevaeh as much as possible, comforting her when she could, but she knew if that thing came back she needed to be able to fight fast and only allowed herself to hold the little girl for a few minutes at a time.

Not understanding what was going on Nevaeh had spent the day crying, only stopping when she had fallen asleep. Every time someone took her away from her mom she flailed her arms, trying to get back to her. She wanted her mommy to hold her and protect her and when she wouldn’t the toddler became confused and grouchy.

The walls made noises as the demon moved through them watching for an opening to attack. After another round of fighting, the thing again managed to get away leaving everyone scared, not knowing how they could possibly stop this one.

Not wanting anyone to get hurt, Buffy told Dawn to stay with Spike so that he could protect her, but the teen had, had enough and followed Buffy upstairs. “It’s not like I meant for this to happen.”

Buffy sighed, she didn’t want to fight with her sister right now. “I never said that you did,” she told her honestly.

“I didn’t want this.”

Buffy asked her what she did want, but Dawn wasn’t sure she was ready to admit how lonely she had been feeling. In the end she decided to just go for it and explain how things were different for her, how she felt that she was alone.

As their conversation progressed, Buffy began to realize just why they might be trapped when Dawn brought up the new counselor that had appeared at her school. But before she had a chance to ask her more about it, Anya tore up the stairs and into Dawn’s room.

They tried to talk the ex-vengeance demon down, but she wasn’t having any of it and opened a box on Dawn’s desk, finding jewelry and charms, some from the Magic Box inside. “How could you do this?”

Dawn tore down the stairs knowing she was caught. She barely made it down the stairs before Anya caught up to her, asking her how she could do something like that.

Wanting to give her sister the benefit of the doubt, she tried to figure out another possibility, before her eyes fell on the jacket that Dawn had given her for her birthday. Everything seemed to click into place then, as she realized why her sister seemed so twitchy about things lately.

Still, Dawn was her sister and she had to stick up for her when Anya accused her once again of trapping them here. “I don’t think it was her fault. There was someone pretending to be a guidance counselor. She made Dawn make a wish.”

“Guidance Counselor, you made a wish to someone you’ve never seen before,” Anya stated more than asked. When Dawn admitted that she had, Anya asked her if she wore a pendant with a dark blue stone, knowing it was likely her friend from her demon days.

After several calls, Halfrek appeared before them, just as the demon attacked again stabbing her in the chest. This time when the demon tried to disappear again through the wall, Buffy stabbed the sword through, trapping the demon once again inside before breaking it in half.

Halfrek jumped up, a sword through the chest not stopping her, when they tried to take her pendant to break the curse. She wasn’t about to lift the curse, but when she realized she was now stuck as well, she had no choice but to end it so she could leave.

The group all stood around, waiting for someone to open the door and see if the spell was really gone. Finally Spike reached out and opened the door and everyone made their way outside. Buffy watched them leave, before shutting the door behind them, knowing her and Dawn were now in for a long overdue talk.


	11. Chapter 10- Worries and Fears (May 2002)

**Chapter 10**

“…Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred. Damn, Faith, where do you get all that upper body strength?” Joey asked, as Faith set the bar back in its resting position on the bench press. “I mean that thing’s gotta have more than three hundred pounds on it right?”

“I guess,” Faith replied like it didn’t matter. Truthfully she knew exactly how much weight was on the bar and it wasn’t close to what she would have liked. She figured though that any more and people might start to question it. She swung her arms across each other, stretching them out. “I’ve always been in good shape, I exercised a lot ‘fore I got put in here,” she finished half lying. It was true she worked out when she trained, but not the kind of exercise Joey was thinking of.

“How’s your kid doing?” Faith smiled at the mention of her daughter. Her hesitancy to talk about her with this woman was growing smaller and smaller, as the two women had grown closer together. Joey asked about Nevaeh often, and the two had become fairly good friends through their time together.

“I got some pictures and a letter from Buffy about her first Easter Egg hunt a few weeks ago. She looked so damn cute in her Easter dress twirling around.” Faith smiled, remembering each and every picture as if she had them right in front of her. “She was so proud of her little basket of eggs, holding ‘em up for the world to see with that smirk on her face. Wish I had pictures of myself when I was her age, but my Ma never took any. B says she looks just like me, but I gotta wonder. Glad Nevaeh has a Mom that takes lots of pictures of her. Although that was almost a month ago.”

“And you haven’t heard from her since?” Joey watched as Faith shook her head no. “Isn’t that weird? Don’t you exchange letters and phone calls fairly regularly?”

“Not really. It is May after all. There’s always some big ap…project going on in B’s job around then. Sides if something had happened someone would have told me,” she shrugged.

“I was thinkin’ more like she was just tired of it. Ya know like most of our families, they visit at first and all that, but then over time they just forget about us.”

“Nah, that’s not like B. I’m sure I’ll hear from her soon.”

Joey just nodded her head as if she believed her, “Alright, hope it works out for you.”

Faith hoped so too. She wouldn’t admit it, but she often wondered about that very thing. Kept thinking that maybe one day B would get tired of the long drives, and the time it took to write a letter. Fearing the day that might happen and she wouldn’t get to see her daughter anymore. She had to believe B meant it when she assured her that Nevaeh would continue to know who she was.

If she didn’t hear from Buffy soon, she’d try to call Angel and see if he knew what was going on.

\--

Buffy sat trying to listen to the meeting that was going on around her as Willow, Tara and Xander all conversed on the Trio’s immediate plans. She couldn’t get her mind away from the bathroom scene with Spike and what had almost happened.

She had never felt so terrified in her life. She knew he was in love with her, but she had no idea her continued rejections would lead him to do something so horrible. The terror had left her almost paralyzed as she begged him to stop. Her slayer abilities left her in her moment of fear and she couldn’t do anything to stop him.

She still didn’t know where she had finally found the strength to push him away and stop him. For the first time in a long time, she could see the animal in him and it chilled her to the core. If she would have been anyone other than a slayer, she wouldn’t have had a chance.

Focusing back into what Willow was saying, she listened to her and Tara, as they explained where the three boys would hit next. Glad she might finally have a chance to stop them once and for all, she readied herself before heading out to the armored car that was just sitting there about to be robbed.

Hours later, Buffy tried not let it show as she wandered back into the house, but Warren had done a number on her with those “orbs” whatever they were. She’d have to ask Willow to research them for her and find out if it was something they should worry about in the future.

As she did after each battle, she bypassed those sitting around the living room waiting on her return and headed straight up to Nevaeh’s room. The baby barely moved as she entered the room and walked over to the crib, lightly running a hand over the little one’s chubby cheek.

Now that she had Nevaeh, she could understand her mother’s worry about her being a slayer. She couldn’t imagine having to let Nevaeh one day walk out that door to fight the forces of evil. All she wanted was for her daughter to be safe. She’d fight ‘til her last breath to make that happen.

She ran her hands over the sleeping baby one more time, before she felt she was satisfied enough that she was alright, before turning to head back out the door. Shutting the door halfway so a little bit of light still made it into the room, she headed back down the stairs. Finding everyone still in the living room, she prepared to tell them what had happened with the trio.

Those three had been a nuisance for far too long. The day they had hit her with the invisible ray gun had been the worst. Not for her but for Nevaeh. Her daughter was showing signs of being fairly sensitive to the world around her. When she could only feel her mother and not see her, the baby started to get really whiney and upset and wouldn’t stop crying. Buffy tried to soothe her but it only seemed to make the situation worse.

Buffy had a view that day of what it would be like if she had died, like if the fight with Glory had gone down the way she was told it was supposed to. She couldn’t imagine what that would have been like for the gang to deal with Nevaeh, as she spent hours crying out “mommy,” over and over again as she had that day. Thank goodness they were able to reverse it, and the smile her daughter gave her when she walked in the door melted her heart.

At least two of them were now in jail where they rightfully belonged. Hopefully it was a matter of time before they found Warren as well.

\--

The day was shaping up to be a hot one, as Faith played basketball with a few of the other girls during their outside time. At last count her and Joey were ahead by ten points. The other team was a couple of newbies, which around here that meant they had been here under a year.

Faith had just scored a basket and was waiting for Chrissy to pass the ball into Tina. As soon as the ball was in play she ran up to get up in Tina’s face, as she tried to dribble down and find her shot. The girl was predictable, she almost always show from the same side of the court.

Seeing the opening she was looking for, Faith pushed the ball out of her hand and dribbled it back down the court, throwing up a layup from the right side. The basketball went in, but she missed it, as an intense pain filled her chest the same moment her feet hit the ground again. She’d never felt anything like it before.

Even as intense as it was, she knew it wasn’t her own pain she was feeling, as she doubled over, falling to the ground. “Buffy…”

Guards swarmed her side, dragging her into the infirmary. She lay on the bed for what felt like hours, not able to help the nurses understand what was going on with her. All she knew was that something was happening to Buffy and she couldn’t do a dang thing about it where she was. She could feel the other girl get weaker and weaker the longer it went on. Then she just felt an incredible emptiness and sense of loss. She feared the worst had happened.

Just as everything she was feeling had appeared, it disappeared as quickly. The pain was gone as well as the emptiness. She jolted out of the bed they had placed her on and headed for the door. The nurses tried to stop her, telling she needed to settle down so they could figure out what was going on with her.

“No I’m fine, I just need to make a phone call,” she tried, moving to push passed them when they stood between her and the doorway. “Dammit, I’m fine now, I swear. I just need to get to a fucking phone!”

Pushing in between them, she headed out the door as fast as she could, making her way to the common area where the nearest phone was situated. It was a good thing there was no line, or she might have been forced to knock some people out. She had to know what was going on.

Punching in the numbers for Buffy’s house as fast as possible, she listened as it rang and rang before the voicemail came on. She tried Xander’s next and even Giles, but nobody was answering their phones. She wished she knew the number to the Magic Box, but she hadn’t bothered to ask cause she never thought she’d need it.

When her third attempt on Buffy’s house went unanswered, she slammed the phone back in its cradle, “Dammit!” She thought about trying Angel, but figured he wouldn’t have a clue what was going on either. All she was left with was to wait and wonder and hope somebody contacted her soon.

Running her hands hard through her hair, she made her way back to her cell, praying that everybody was alright.

\--

Buffy awkwardly made her way into the house, with a sleepy Nevaeh in one arm and a bag of groceries in the other. She could hear the phone ringing as she made her way into the kitchen, she tried to hurry and sit the bag down, but it wasn’t balanced and it tipped over and food began to go all over the place. Torn between the food and the phone, she finally couldn’t take the ringing any longer and grabbed up the phone.

“Hello?”

 _“B? Oh, thank God,”_ she heard Faith mutter on the other end.

“Faith?” she questioned, wondering why she heard such a sense of relief in the other girl’s voice.

_“I’ve just been trying to reach you for days, but I couldn’t ever get anybody on the phone.”_

“Why? What’s wrong?” Buffy was worried now, but before she could get an answer from Faith, she heard the other girl mumbling something to someone else.

 _“Ah, guess it’s nothing. Look, I gotta go B. I’ll talk to you later.”_ Before the words were entirely out of her mouth the phone went silent and a definitive click was heard.

Buffy stood there in the kitchen, rocking a not almost all the way out Nevaeh on her shoulder, trying to figure out what to do. _What had Faith’s phone call been about anyway?_ She needed to know and she just didn’t think she could wait to find out.

“Sorry, baby, looks like we’re getting back in the car. Hopefully we’ll make it before visiting hours are up, because I need to speak to Mama.” When that didn’t get a reaction from the little girl, she knew she was out cold. Hopefully she’d sleep the entire drive so she’d get a full nap.

Buffy barely made the deadline for afternoon visiting hours, as she raced through the front doors to get in line to go through security. It’s a good thing she now always carried a “prison diaper bag” in the car as Nevaeh would need a diaper change and soon. Right now she was still half asleep on Buffy’s shoulder.

They led her into one of the visiting rooms, Faith wasn’t in there yet, so she laid Nevaeh down on the table and quickly changed her diaper. She threw the dirty one in the plastic bag, knowing she’d have to throw it away after she left the building. It was more than ten minutes before Faith finally entered the room, surprised to see her.

 “Hey, B,” she greeted, the shock evident in her voice. Soon as Nevaeh heard Faith’s voice her little head shot straight up to look for her.

“Mama,” she cried, reaching for her. Faith didn’t bother to look in the direction of the guard who wasn’t Eddie this time. She simply took her daughter from Buffy’s arms, daring the woman to say something about. She wasn’t too worried. Josie was one of the nicer guards, more like Eddie. She knew the woman had kids of her own and wasn’t likely to say anything.

Buffy ignored Faith’s greeting, not wanting to talk small talk when she was wondering what that phone call was all about.

“What’s going on, Faith? What was with that phone call?”

Seeing Buffy and Vaeh for herself and that they were alright, made her more emotional than she thought possible and she tried to hold it all in, not wanting the older slayer to see it. “I guess I just got worried when I didn’t hear from you for awhile.”

Buffy thought back and realized that other than the pictures and stuff from Easter, it in fact had been awhile since they really had talked in person or on the phone. Their last visit had been in February if she recalled and it was almost June now. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how long it had been I guess. We were kinda dealing with something.”

“I figured it was uh, worked related,” she said, knowing they’d really have to be careful about what they said. This was the first time Eddie wasn’t around, and they had gotten so used to him they weren’t always as careful as they should have been. Although Faith had a feeling he knew something about what went bump in the night. She kept meaning to ask him, but never had the chance to when others weren’t around.

“Well sorta, wasn’t anything too bad, just three guys that called themselves ‘The Trio,’ far more normal than we’re used to,” Buffy tried, hoping Faith would understand what she was saying. She seemed to as she nodded her head. “But we had a little disagreement and well the leader pulled out a gun. I ended up in the crossfire and got shot. I was pretty much dead, but thanks to Willow- who got help quickly,” she tried to cover, “I’m fine now.” She really hoped Faith would understand what she was really saying, and hoping she’d know what kind of power that would take to pull it off.

“She went after him though, guy almost killed Tara as well, so she was pretty angry. Anyway she, um, found him. Didn’t end well. She’s with Giles now in England. Kinda doing what Wesley tried to do with you, only nicer and geared towards skills,” Buffy finished, hoping she’d said it in a way that left the guard clueless if she was listening to them, although she didn’t believe she was.

Faith leaned forward, watching Buffy do the same, so she could tell her quietly why she’d been so worried. “I felt you die, B. I felt it all, the bullet, you getting weaker, until all I felt was emptiness. Nurses here couldn’t figure what was going on with me. But then it all just went away, so I tried to call ya, and been trying every day since, but I couldn’t get anyone to answer the phone.”

They both leaned back again, “I’m sorry, we’ve been so busy dealing with Willow I haven’t even thought to check the phone.” She wanted to comment on Faith being able to feel all that too, but felt it wasn’t the place. She’d have Giles look into and then they could talk about it later in a letter or something.

“It’s aight, so long as you guys are all ok.”

“We’re all fine now. I promise you. Well, except Xander, he and Anya didn’t end up getting married. They are both pretty tore up about it.”

“Better for them,” Faith said strongly.

“What you don’t believe in marriage? Or theirs in particular?” Buffy asked curiously. She knew Faith had a bad childhood, she wondered if this was one of those things that had leaked into adulthood.

Faith just shrugged, “Marriage, it’s all a sham, a big lie. Causes too many problems.”

“Sorry you feel that way.”

“I’m surprised you don’t.” Buffy knew she was talking about Buffy’s parents. It was true they had divorced, but in the long run it had been the best thing for her mom. Her dad wasn’t the guy she thought he was growing up.

“I think it can be right, when you find the right person and you are both committed to making it work. My dad wasn’t, it got hard so he left. Sometimes that’s just the way it is,” she said honestly.

“Yeah well, I never plan on getting hitched, not like I could from in here even if I wanted to anyway.” Faith almost sounded sad about that, so Buffy wasn’t sure if she really believed what she was saying, or if she was just trying to keep up that tough girl exterior she held so dear.

“You girls better wrap it up, times almost up,” Josie told them from her post by the door. “And bring that girl of yours over here so I can take a look.”

Faith wasn’t sure if Josie meant Nevaeh or Buffy. She knew that even though she’d told everyone otherwise, people seemed to believe there was something between her and Buffy. She’d just decided she’d live with it. Not like it mattered anyway. Getting up, she started to head across the room to Josie, nodding to Buffy to follow.

The older woman studied the baby for a minute, before reaching out and touching the little girl’s head of curly hair. “She looks just like you,” she told Faith, as Buffy came to stand beside her. “The three of you make such a cute family,” the guard smiled at them. She knew Faith was just a mixed up kid when she got sentenced. She was a good girl deep down, and she was always happy when the people that deserved it had people who loved them and would help them through the difficult times.

Buffy glanced at Faith as the older woman spoke, wondering what the younger slayer thought about what the guard had just said, but Faith just shrugged her shoulders ignoring it. Buffy took Nevaeh from Faith’s arms as they wrapped up their visit. She headed out the door with the word ‘family’ ringing in her ears.


	12. Chapter 11- Nevaeh (August 2002)

**Chapter 11**

Buffy was deep in thought as she pushed the stroller down the sidewalk towards the Magic Box. Inside the stroller the twenty-month old infant was fast asleep, unaware of the worry her mother was currently feeling about her. Something about Nevaeh’s behavior was bothering her but she wasn’t quite sure what it was.

The two were on their way back from taking a lunch break at the park. The shop had been particularly slow today, so Giles had allowed Buffy to take an extra long break so that she could get the little girl out of the building for a few. Something that didn’t happen very often, unless it involved the supernatural.

She was grateful to Giles and Anya for allowing her to work there for so long. Sure it wasn’t a glamorous job, but it wasn’t like she could get one of those even if she wanted to leave there. She spent most of her time stocking the shelves and cleaning when there weren’t customers to help out. And on the upside, she didn’t have to explain to her boss why she sometimes had to leave in the middle of a shift. Always a plus.

The most obvious plus had always been that she could also have Nevaeh there nearby. She didn’t have to worry about baby-sitters or day care. If she had to take off for something slayer related, she didn’t have to worry about relieving the baby-sitter on time, or picking the little girl up before closing. But now she was starting to wonder if being stuck in the Magic Box everyday was good for her daughter.

She pushed the stroller in through the door that was already propped open and stopped it next to the playpen behind the counter. Nevaeh looked comfortable enough with the seat of the stroller reclined so she just left her be, preferring not to take the risk of waking her up if she transferred her into playpen.

“Hey Buffy, you guys have fun at the park?” Willow asked from her spot at the table, with Tara’s head resting on the redhead’s shoulder.

“Hmm,” Buffy, snapping out of her thoughts, replied, “Oh, um, yeah it was nice to get out for a bit. Think Nevaeh needed the fresh air too. She was sound asleep soon as I strapped her in.” She tried to speak casually, not sure she wanted her friends to know what she was thinking.

“What’s wrong, Buffy?” the Wicca asked. Guess she didn’t hide it so well anyway. She knew it was stupid, but she just didn’t want them to judge her parenting if they knew what was on her mind. “Come on, Buff, I know there’s something.”

The Slayer shuffled her way over to the table and plopped down into the seat across from the other two women. Leaning her head back so that her neck rested on the top of the chair, she stared at the ceiling. She spent several minutes just trying to gather her thoughts and figure out how to tell them what she noticed at the park.

Sighing, she lifted her head back up to look at them, “It’s Vaeh. When we were at the park, she just sat and mostly played by herself in the sand. Which wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but a few of the other kids tried to approach her and she just totally went reclusive, like she was afraid of them or something, I don’t know.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad. It’s not like she knew the other kids either right?” Willow tried to reassure her.

“Ya but, neither did some of the other kids that were playing together, I heard their mom’s introduce themselves, so I knew it was the same thing. Their kids played just fine together,” she finished her explanation of where her worries had come from. “I realized on the walk back, that she hasn’t been around other kids before really either. I mean we’ve only been to the park a couple of times. Most of the time she’s here or at home surrounded by adults.”

“See, so maybe you just need to expose her to more kids around her age,” Willow reasoned, believing it was an easy fixable situation.

“But how? I mean obviously we could go to the park more often, but you can’t ever predict who else will be there. And I really don’t want to put her in day care and leave her with strangers. That’s why I was so glad Giles decided they could afford to give me a job, so I didn’t have to leave her all day.”

“I think she’s too young to go to a preschool. I believe you have to be three for most of them,” Willow added.

“Thhh… there’s a girl, in one of my classes, she has a son about the same age as Nevaeh. She… uh… she takes him to a playgroup a couple afternoons a week,” Tara spoke, remembering the girl she’d talked with a few weeks ago, after seeing how harried the girl looked and wanted to see if there was anything she could do. The girl had just shrugged it off saying between her son and her studies she just didn’t have enough time to sleep. Then she had rushed off saying it was time for playgroup and she never missed that time with her son.

“A playgroup? What’s that?” Buffy asked, interested.                 

“Well, the girl, Sara, told me her group just meets a couple times a week and the kids play and the moms get to chat, or play with their kids. Sara likes it because its one-on-one time she gets with her son that’s uninterrupted, but he also has friends there and stuff.” Tara smiled as she finished up, glad for once she had something useful to offer.

“Hmm, that could work I guess. I’ll have to look into that. Do you think you could ask Sara more about it? What time, and what I’d need to do and all that?”

“Sure, I have a class with her tomorrow.”

Buffy let her worries be pushed to the side. Maybe if she could find a way to expose Nevaeh to more kids, the little girl would start to make friends and not be such a loner. She was hoping that was all it was. She knew the babe was sensitive to the supernatural, she hoped that it wasn’t a reaction to that. Worried that her baby would grow up seeing the world as an evil place. She wanted her to see the beauty in the world, not just the ugly.

Faith was scheduled to call that night. She’d have to talk to her about it too, see if she had any input on the situation. Faith had been calling more since the shooting, the letters and occasional visits weren’t enough to satisfy her need to know what was going on in their lives anymore.

Buffy felt bad when she realized how much money each call was costing Faith. She knew the other Slayer had a job within the prison, but she didn’t make much, so it was senseless for her to pay for so many calls. So now the two split the cost of each phone call.

She hated to think it, but other than each moment she got to spend with Nevaeh, some days those phone calls were the highlight of her days. They had started to talk about more than just Nevaeh and all things slayer related. Moving easily into a comfortable friendship. She knew they still had a ways to go to really get over their past, but they were making strides in getting there.

Buffy had barely stepped in the door that night and put Vaeh down in the living room, when she heard the phone begin to ring and then stop. “Buffy, Faith’s on the phone,” Dawn called from upstairs.

She had tried to hurry home, knowing that Faith was to call soon, and was afraid she’d miss her call. She was glad Dawn was home tonight, so if she had, at least someone would have been here to answer the phone. She didn’t want the other Slayer to worry about them needlessly.

“Ok, I got it,” she called up the stairs, before putting the extension to her ear. “Hey Faith.”

“Back at ya, B. How’s it goin’?”

“It’s alright. Actually I’m glad you called tonight, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” Buffy went on to explain her observations and what her friends had to offer earlier that day. The younger girl had recently told her that they could take classes inside the prison and she had started taking a psychology class. She had taken it for the units on children. Since she couldn’t be with her child, she felt this was a way to feel close to her, by better understanding what her child might be thinking and feeling.

“Sounds like you have it all figured out to me,” Faith responded when Buffy was finally done talking.

“So you think it’s a good idea?” Buffy questioned. She really wanted to be sure on this, and having Faith’s approval would go a long way towards that.

Faith was surprised how much Buffy still doubted herself when it came to Nevaeh. Anyone with eyes could see what a great mother she was. She knew the adoption had gone through all those months ago, having received a letter from a lawyer. That day had been a hard one for her, but she knew her little girl was getting the best possible mom she could have. She wished Buffy would see it. “I think it’s a great idea, B. She should be around other kids, helps her development and all that.”

Buffy sighed, “Alright then, guess we’ll find a playgroup. Hopefully Tara’s friend will be able to give us more information.”

“Yeah, wish I could be there on her first day,” Faith smiled at the thought. Thinking of it much the same as it would be to send her off to kindergarten one day.

“Oh we’ll take lots of pictures, I’m sure. ‘Sides if you were there, we both know you’d get into trouble. Feed all the kids candy or something,” Buffy teased. The laughter on the other end of the line making her smile happily. Teasing Faith was quickly becoming a favorite activity and the other girl took it in stride.

“You’re probably right.” Faith went quiet but Buffy could hear faint sounds coming from the other side, meaning the brunette was probably being told her phone time was up for the night. She wasn’t surprised when Faith came back on the line saying she had to go.

“Alrighty, have a goodnight, Faith.”

“You to, B.” And with a click she was gone, leaving Buffy out of sorts. She was always like that after a phone call with Faith. She was starting to hate that they were on a time limit. There was always so much more she wanted to say, but never got the chance.

\--

A few weeks later, Buffy entered the small kid’s gym where the playgroup met a few times a week. The gym was in a small building in the middle of town, that held a jungle gym and a few other toys to climb on and play with. It was built with small kids in mind, so it was the perfect place to hold the playgroup.

Buffy had found a few other groups that met in the area, but had decided on the one that Tara’s friend went to since it was the most convenient with her schedule. The place was already starting to fill up with moms and kids and Buffy felt a little out of place.

“Hey, are you Buffy?” she heard someone say to her left. Turning to find the source of the voice, her eyes landed on a tall brunette walking towards her, with a small boy in her arms.

“Yes I am, how’d you know?”

The woman held her right hand out, “I’m Sara, was told you might be joining us. And since you’re the only new one here…” She let the sentence hang, knowing Buffy would understand what she was saying. “This little guy here is Kyler, he’s kinda shy around new people, huh buddy?” The little boy responded by burying his head deep into his mother’s shoulder. “And this cutie must be Nevaeh.”

Buffy watched her little girl as she studied the newcomers. If Buffy didn’t know any better she’d think the girl was sizing them up, assessing their threat level. “That she is. She’s not so good with strangers either. And she hasn’t really been around other kids, which is why we’re here.”

“Hmm, well you might want to do what I do then. Get on the floor with her, but then just let her explore on her own. Sometimes if other kids come over, try and engage them all into a game together. If she sees you’re comfortable with them, then she probably will be too.”

Sara indicated for her to follow and began wandering over to a cornered off area of the gym where there were toys for smaller kids. She sat down with him and began to play with a few of the large trucks. Buffy sat down beside her and started to do the same.

The two women conversed for the next hour as the children played by their sides. Eventually they were both able to make their way over to a bench to sit and watch as their toddlers began to play with each other hesitantly. “Looks like Vaeh’s starting to make a friend.”

“Yeah Kyler seems to like her too. Tara said she’ll be two in December,” Sara watched Buffy nod her head yes. “His is the end of October. So they aren’t far apart.”

Buffy smiled as she watched Nevaeh hand a ball to her new friend. This had definitely been a good idea. Not just for Vaeh, but for her too. She loved her friends dearly, but it was nice to be able to talk to someone who knew what it was like to be a mother. She could see her and Sara being good friends.

Just then out of the corner of her eye, she saw a little boy heading towards their kids. He had to be at least three and he was twice their size. He walked over to Kyler and snatched the ball right out of his hands leaving the little one crying.

Before either woman could move and help the situation she heard a loud, “NO!” come out of her daughter’s mouth, as the little girl pushed the boy down and reached for the ball. “Kyer’s,” she yelled before turning back to her new friend and handing him the ball back.

No one else seemed phased by the event, and the kids went back to playing as the three year old left them alone. But for Buffy the wheels began to turn in her head. That kid had to be at least twice Nevaeh’s size, if not more. There was no human way possible that she should have been able to push him down so easily.

They’d never bothered to test her for Slayer powers. She could honestly say it had never entered her mind. She was just a baby, beside Slayers were called, they weren’t born. But then, as far as she knew, no Slayer had a child, so who was to really say.

Maybe it was just plain coincidence. After all, other than just that moment, Vaeh hadn’t shown any other signs of increased strength. If there was one thing Buffy didn’t believe in though it was coincidence. Vaeh had seemed quite angry for her friend though and a lot of inhuman things could be done in anger.

She sat torn between what to do. On one hand, she could go home and tell the gang and they could research. Then Giles would want to test her and she didn’t want the toddler to have to endure that. She deserved to be a child and live the life that children got to live, not be thrust into the world of the Slayer. Not like they’d send her out patrolling, but everyone would want to see what she could do, if she was in fact a Baby Slayer.

No the best option seemed to be to say nothing for now. She’d just have to keep a close eye on Nevaeh and see if anything else like that happened. The next time she went to visit Faith, she’d have to ask her if the other girl had ever had thoughts that she might have Slayer powers, or if she sensed anything when she was pregnant.

Yes, that was the plan. And she was sure that this was a good one.


	13. Chapter 12- Family (September 2002)

**Chapter 12**

“Mama?” Nevaeh asked Buffy inquisitively. She was seated on the table in front of Buffy while they waited, swinging her legs slightly in anticipation.

“She’s coming, baby,” Buffy tried to reassure her daughter. In truth she was beginning to wonder herself. She wasn’t sure, but she believed they had been in the visiting room for almost twenty minutes now, and still no sign of Faith. It had never taken this long for the other girl to be escorted in. She hoped she’d get to see her today. She really wanted to talk to her about Nevaeh.

“Me boed,” the toddler said in her best imitation of Dawn. Buffy was sad and excited at the same time that Nevaeh was starting to talk more. Although she didn’t know very many words just yet, she had managed to put two words together on a couple other occasions. Her little girl was growing up too fast.

Buffy smiled at the little girl, “You’re bored huh?” The small brunette nodded her head vigorously. “I think you’ve been spending too much time with Aunt Dawn. Do you even know what it means?” she asked teasingly. The little girl shook her head no. “That’s what I thought. And for that I think you should be…”

She paused watching as Vaeh watched her carefully waiting to see what she’d do. “Tickled,” Buffy finished, while both hands proceeded to attack both of the toddler’s sides at the same time. The babe squealed in delight, loving when her mom played with her like this. “Mommy… Mommy,” she repeated over and over again to the blonde who was unrelenting.

“Hey, what’s goin’ on in here?” Faith said from the doorway, after having watched them for a minute. They had been so busy in their little game, neither girl had noticed Faith had even entered until she spoke.

“Mama!” Vaeh squealed again as Buffy’s hands stopped their tickling. She placed a kiss on the baby’s forehead as Faith walked over to take the little one in her arms.

“We were ‘boed’ waiting for you,” Buffy answered, laughing. Faith looked questioningly at Vaeh who only nodded her head in agreement with her mom.

“Ya were huh? Sorry ‘bout that. Had to take my friend Joey to the infirmary. She got pretty beat down. One of the other inmates just went crazy or somethin’, attacked her outta nowhere.”

“She ok?” Buffy asked.

Faith shrugged as she sat down across from Buffy. “They said she’d be fine, but ya never know in here when they are telling ya the truth.” Faith didn’t even bother to hide the emotion in her voice from the truth of that statement, and her concern for her friend. This was Buffy, she didn’t have to put up a façade with her anymore.

“I’m sorry, Faith. Wish I could do something,” the blonde said honestly. The more time she spent really getting to know Faith, the more she wondered if the girl really belonged in here.

“It’s alright. I fu… messed up,” she corrected herself looking down at the girl in her arms. “Got no one to blame but myself for bein’ in here.”

Still Buffy couldn’t help but wonder. It seemed like Faith was determined though to finish her sentence. Every time the subject was brought up, the other slayer would just dismiss it, claiming she was where she needed to be. Still, twenty-five years was a long time and she hadn’t even served two of that yet.

“Bue,” Vaeh interrupted Buffy’s thought train as she pointed at Faith’s shirt.

Faith looked down at her prison issued outfit, then to Vaeh and finally to Buffy, “Did she just say blue?”

“Yeah, she knows blue now. It’s her friend, Kyler’s, favorite color. He taught it to her.”

“Kyer! Mama, Kyer!”

“We’ll see Kyler tomorrow, baby.”

“You have a friend now, kiddo?” Faith asked the toddler, to get another typical head nod from the tot. “That’s good then, you should have friends.” Turning to Buffy, “This kid good enough for her, B?”

“Faith, he’s one.”

“So what’s ya point? Doesn’t mean he’s good enough for our kid,” Faith said easily, protective of the little girl in her arms.

“He’s fine, Faith,” Buffy just rolled her eyes, even though she shouldn’t have expected anything less coming from the brunette. The girl protected what was hers, and that wasn’t a bad thing. Talking about Kyler though was the perfect opening. “But there is something I wanted to talk to you about. It’s about her though,” she gestured to Vaeh.

“What’s up? Sounds serious.”

Buffy hesitated for a moment. She didn’t want to make Faith worry or freak out. Leaning in for more privacy, she was happy when Faith followed her lead. “Did you ah… sense anything when you were pregnant with her?”

“Like what?”

She wasn’t sure how to explain this so Faith would understand what she was getting at without being fairly blunt and hoping, Josie, who was their guard again today, didn’t catch on. “Like any powers, or ya know, supernatural things,” she half whispered.

Faith clutched Vaeh tightly to her, unsure of what Buffy was getting at, but wanting to shield her daughter. “What like you think she’s bad?”

“No… NO!” Buffy exclaimed, realizing she’d botched this up. “I think she’s like a baby Slayer.”

“A Slayer?” Faith questioned quietly.

The elder Slayer went on to tell her about what had happened at playgroup earlier in the week. “I haven’t seen her do anything else, but she should not have been able to push that kid down, Faith. Not if she was a normal one year old.”

“Wow, I dunno. Something like that never entered my mind. I feel connected to her, but I just thought it was normal mother/daughter stuff ya know?” The younger girl looked down at her daughter, studying for any signs. What signs she didn’t know, but to think the little girl on her lap was like them was blowing her mind. She wanted to hold her even tighter now and never let go. Slaying wasn’t for someone as precious as her little girl. She deserved a real life.

“I guess I’ve always felt a connection with her too, like I was drawn to her. Never been around many babies, so just figured that’s just the way it was with kids.” Buffy could see the wheels turn in the teenager’s head. The way Faith changed from her normal self to that of the protector. Even her eyes changed demeanor. She couldn’t say she blamed her, Buffy felt the same way.

“What do the scoobies say?”

“I… uh,” she paused, “haven’t told them yet. I wanted to be sure first, and well, talk to you about it first. I just know Giles will want to test her and I don’t think she should have to go through that. She’s just a baby.”

Faith was floored. Not only had Buffy not told her friends, but she came to her first. That’s the second time she’d come to Faith before making a biggish decision in a week about their daughter. And now she was starting to think like Buffy, _biggish_ , what the hell was that?

Each visit she was managing to let go more and more of the fear that Buffy and Nevaeh would abandon her here. She knew on some level that being afraid of that was dumb. Buffy had proven enough times over the last eighteen months or so that she meant what she said. Something had changed between them when Nevaeh had entered their lives. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it seemed to get stronger as they got to know each other better.

“Thanks for coming to me first. I mean that,” Faith said honestly. “Maybe we should just keep this between us for now. See if anything else happens.” Buffy nodded her head in agreement as if that’s what she’d been thinking too. “You’re right, she’s just a baby.”

“Yeah, and even if we have to tell them, I’ll try and keep Giles away. At least until she’s older. Although I’d rather keep her away from that world entirely.”

“Me too,” Faith admitted.

“Really? Miss Slay Queen?” Buffy teased.

“Things change, B. I thought I had nothing else back then, still do sometimes. But she doesn’t, she’s got people who actually love her, and the best Mom she could ask for. Something I didn’t have.”

“You have that too Faith,” Buffy told her, reaching out and placing a hand over the other girl’s. “You have a daughter who loves you unconditionally. And that makes you family to me. Our daughter makes us linked.

Faith couldn’t hold in the emotion and let the tears fall with Buffy’s statement. All she ever wanted was acceptance from Buffy, and here the other girl had to go and take it one step further and offer her a family.

“Thanks, B,” she sniveled. “You’re my family too.”

“Mama cry?” Vaeh asked in a childish worry, looking like she might cry herself.

“Mama’s fine, she just loves ya is all.”

“Lah you,” Vaeh smiled up at her Mama.

Faith placed a lingering kiss in the little girl’s hair, breathing in the fresh baby sent. She always smelled so good. Buffy made sure of it. Something her Ma never bothered to do with her. She remembered getting teased in school because she stunk. “She always smells so good. Had to ask a neighbor when I was like seven how to do laundry cause my Ma wouldn’t even wash my clothes, much less make sure I got a bath. Got teased in school.”

“Oh, Faith,” Buffy cried, sad for the little girl, who had to become her own caretaker at such a young age. The more she learned about Faith, the more she realized how emotionally scarred she was, and how badly they’d all screwed up where she was concerned.

“It’s aight, B. I survived, no use crying over it.”

“Still,” Buffy answered. She didn’t care if Josie said anything, when they got up to end their visit, Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith in a tight hug. “See you later.”

Faith hugged Nevaeh to her tightly before handing her over. Looking into the little girl’s eyes, “Be good now, kiddo. Have fun with Kyler tomorrow.”

“Kyer!”

“Great now you’ve done it, Faith. You better hope she forgets about that by the time we get home or you’re going to pay. She doesn’t give up til she gets what she wants.”

“Just like her Mom, and stubborn to boot,” Faith teased.

Buffy answered by sticking out her tongue before heading out the door. She heard the other woman’s “real mature” shout but chose to ignore it.

Strapping Nevaeh into her car seat, she couldn’t help but think about that visit. Faith had really started to open up to her. She had been doing that more and more as of late. Those walls were finally starting to come down. She just hoped something didn’t happen to make her put them all back up again. She liked seeing the side of Faith that most people didn’t get to see.

The scenery on the long drive passed by in a blur, her thoughts never straying far from Faith the entire drive home. They were a family. Buffy smiled at the thought. That sounded good to her.

\--

It was still hours before she had to head out on patrol when they pulled into the driveway. She knew her friends were probably all at the Magic Box, but she didn’t feel like being social. She just wanted to spend some time with her daughter before she had to head out the door.

The two Summer’s girls spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the baby’s dolls and her dishes. She was sad when Willow got there to baby-sit for the night. With a lingering kiss on her daughter’s forehead, she headed out the door.

Patrol was fairly dull. A few newbie vamps and one nasty looking demon trying to rob a crypt. She slayed him easily enough, but she’d have to have the guys see if they could figure out what that thing was after. She couldn’t see anything of value. Least not to the supernatural world.

She knew before she even walked back in the front door that something was wrong. The lights were all on, including in Vaeh’s room and she should have been fast asleep. “Mama!” she heard, and tore up the stairs.

Inside Nevaeh’s room Willow was holding a squirming baby, trying to get her to calm down. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, she woke up screaming and I can’t get her to calm down.”

“Mommy,” Nevaeh cried, reaching for her.

“Hey baby, calm down. What’s wrong,” Buffy soothed, taking the girl from Willow’s arms.

“Mama!”

“We can go see Mama tomorrow.”

“NO!” the toddler shouted. “Mama!”

Buffy didn’t know what to do. They couldn’t drive up to the prison now, it was too late and they wouldn’t let them in anyway. “Baby…”

The phone began to ring and two things happened at once, Dawn called that someone from the prison was on the phone wanting to talk to her at the same time Vaeh finally cried out “Mama hurt.”


	14. Chapter 13- Faith (September 2002)

**Chapter 13**

“Shhh, baby,” Buffy whispers soothingly into Nevaeh’s ear as she bounces her up and down in her arms. “You gotta calm down so Mommy can find out about Mama, ok? It’s ok, baby, shh.” Nevaeh seemed to settle some, but she could still hear the whimpers from the little girl as she buried her head into Buffy’s neck.

Not wanting to stop running her free hand gently over her daughter’s back, she motioned for Dawn to bring the phone over and put it in the crook of her neck. As soon as the phone was in place she said a hesitant “hello,” fearing the news she was about to receive.

“Is this Buffy Summers?” a man on the other end asked.

“Yes, this is her.”

“Miss Summers, this is Mike Jacobs from the Northern California Women’s Correctional Facility. You were listed first on Faith Lehane’s emergency contact list. We were just calling to inform you she’s being taken to the hospital. Miss Lehane was attacked earlier tonight and suffered several stab wounds.”

Faith really was hurt. She knew something wasn’t right even before she walked in the door that night to hear Nevaeh screaming, but she couldn’t place her finger on just what it was. And that their baby could feel it too, or maybe dreamed it. This was too much to take in at once.

“Are you still there, Miss Summers?”

Buffy was pulled back to the present, “Yes I’m still here. How did this happen?” she asked more to herself than to him. Things like that happened in prison all the time she was sure. But Faith was a Slayer, no human should have been able to get the best of her. Which left Buffy wondering what really happened, and only Faith could tell her.

“As of this time the matter is still under investigation. We’ll let you know as soon as we can.”

Buffy knew a line of bull when she heard one. They didn’t have a clue what happened, which led her to believe this was definitely not a human related incident. But how would a demon or vampire get into the prison. And most importantly, why?

“Thank you for calling,” Buffy finished lamely, hanging the phone up. She turned to see her Dawn, Willow and Tara all staring at her questioningly. “Faith was attacked, they are taking her to the hospital.” She paused, trying to make a decision on what to do next. In the end it was no choice at all. “Dawn, will you go make sure the diaper bag is packed?” Her sister nodded her head and went downstairs in search of the bag.

Handing the now calm baby over to Willow, “Will, can you change her diaper and put her in clean pajamas. I’m gonna go shower real quick and change.” Nevaeh let herself be handed over to Willow but once she realized her Mom was leaving she started to cry. “Shh, baby, Mommy will be right back and then we’re going to go bye-bye.” She didn’t want to get her hopes up, so she didn’t mention where they were going.

“Are you sure they’ll even let you see her?” Willow asked.

“I don’t know, but I can’t just sit around here waiting for the phone to ring again.” Willow just nodded, knowing Buffy needed to do something.

“Why don’t you leave Vaeh here at least?”

“No, I couldn’t stand to be away from her right now. Besides she needs to see her as much as I do, so hopefully they’ll let us.” Buffy didn’t wait for a response, instead heading out of Nevaeh’s room and quickly to her own to grab more comfortable clothes before hitting the shower.

Within fifteen minutes she was on the long drive to Stockten. The drive had quickly lulled Nevaeh back to sleep in her carseat and Buffy was left with only the radio for company. She hadn’t bothered to ask what hospital the other girl had been taken to, but she was guessing it was the one she passed on the way to the prison every time she visited. If all else failed, hopefully their connection would lead her to the right place.

Being so late at night, she easily found a parking spot close to the ER doors, where she assumed they had taken the younger girl. Throwing the diaper bag over her shoulder, she carefully lifted Nevaeh into her arms, not wanting to wake her up. The doors opened up quickly for her as she made her way into the hospital and straight to the desk at the front.

The receptionist looked at her with no emotion as she approached. “Hi, I’m looking for Faith Lehane?”

Bored, “Family?”

“Well, sort of. This is her daughter, and I’m her daughter’s adoptive mother.”

The receptionist wasn’t sure that really counted as family, but pulled the screen up on the computer, finding the patient in question. She was glad she’d easily be able to pass the blonde off to someone else. “She’s been taken up to surgery on the third floor. Take that elevator right there and head right, someone up there can help you.”

Buffy didn’t even bother to thank the woman, before quickly heading over to the elevator. She knew the receptionist couldn’t care less. How someone that emotionless could work in a hospital was beyond her.

On the third floor she found another desk and repeated herself with the nurse on duty there. “Miss Lehane is still in surgery. They shouldn’t be too much longer though,” the nurse, Judy, told her in a caring tone. “You can wait in that waiting room over there and I’ll let the doctor know you’re here as soon as he comes out. However, it’ll be up to the guards with her if you’ll be able to see her or not.”

“Thank you so much.” Judy watched the young blonde walk with her daughter over to the couch and lay back so her daughter could sleep more comfortably. She’d seen so many prisoners come in and out of the hospital over the years, all of them so alone. This was the first time she’d ever seen anyone come to wait, knowing they might not even get to see their loved one. Faith Lehane was one lucky girl to have someone so worried about her.

\--

Less than an hour went by before Buffy finally saw a man in scrubs heading her way, he was older with a slight grey tint to his hair and he had a kind face, although she couldn’t tell if it was good or bad news yet. Sitting up, she moved Nevaeh so that she was stretched out on the couch, before standing to face the doctor.

“You here for Faith Lehane?”

“Yes. How is she?” Buffy asked, worry clearly etched in her voice.

The doctor smiled, “She’s gonna be fine, she had two small stab wounds to the stomach that didn’t do much damage. She took one to the right side though that went pretty deep and caused some internal bleeding. We got it stopped, and stitched her all up.”

“Can we see her?”

“She’s still unconscious right now, but I have no problem with it so long as she gets her rest. Judy, sneaky nurse that she is, already convinced the guards to let you see her for a few minutes. But any longer than that will be entirely up to them.”

“She’s not in a coma or anything though right?” Buffy asked, remembering several years before.

The doctor looked confused, “Um, no she’s just still out because of the drugs we gave her, she should wake up shortly.”

Buffy let out a relieved sigh. “Good, it’s just last time she was stabbed she was in a coma for eight months.” She couldn’t help but feel guilty about that to this day. The two had never talked about it, but it was never far from Buffy’s mind.

That’s what he hated about all the prisoners coming in. They never got a medical history on the patients. He’d seen the mark on her stomach but hadn’t given it much thought. Being stabbed before and in a coma was something that should have been shared with their staff. “She should be awake soon. I’ll have Judy take you to her as soon as you can see her.”

“Alright, thank you, doctor.” Buffy sat down on the couch to wait, lightly running her hands over her daughter’s head, needing the contact to reassure her that everything was fine. A thought occurred to her and she wandered over to the desk, keeping an eye on the sleeping baby.

“Do you have a phone I could use,” she asked Judy, knowing cell phones weren’t generally allowed in the hospital. The kind redhead lifted her phone up and put it on the ledge where Buffy could easily use it and still keep her eye on Nevaeh.

She dialed her home number waiting as the phone rang on the other end of the line. She was just about to give up when she heard the call finally get picked up. “Hello?” Willow asked, half asleep.

“Hey, Will, it’s me. I just wanted to let you guys know she’s going to be fine. They said I could see her for a few minutes so I’m just waiting now. We’ll head home sometime after that.”

“That’s good news. No need to hurry home, Tara and I will stay with Dawn until you get here.”

“Thanks, Wills.” She finished the call quickly after that and headed back over to Nevaeh.

She watched as Judy got up and disappeared around the corner. She drummed her fingers against her thighs impatiently. She hated hospitals and even more she hated waiting around, not knowing what was going on beyond what she could see.

She could faintly see a gurney rolled down the hall behind the desk, followed by two men in uniform. She knew it was Faith, but she was too far away to really see anything other than brunette hair making a stark contrast to the white pillow her head laid on.

She wanted to get up and run to her, assure herself that everything was fine. But she knew she had to wait for them to come and get her. She wouldn’t get very far with the guards if she didn’t play nice. She was hoping they’d allow her to see Faith without them present so they could possibly talk about what happened. The chances of that were slim, she was afraid.

Time seemed to drag while she waited, but finally she saw Judy walking towards her. “We’ve got her set up in her room now so you can see her. She’s just starting to come out of the anesthesia now so you might be able to talk to her.”

Buffy picked Nevaeh up and followed Judy down the hall she had watched the gurney go down. Judy stopped in front of room 319, which was easy to identify as Faith’s room, what with the big burly guard standing watch.

Judy walked past him, motioning to Buffy to follow. Just inside the door stood another short blond guy, but she gave him no notice as she made her way over to the bed. Faith looked so young and so innocent. It tore at her heart much the same way as it had the last time she had seen the other girl in the hospital.

Her Slayer senses where a bit off because of the drugs she had in her system, but Faith could clearly feel the change in the room. Struggling to open her eyes, she was surprised by the sight before her. “B?” she croaked out.

“Faith, thank God, I was so worried. We both were,” Buffy breathed out, nodding to Nevaeh in her arms. “She knew Faith, she knew before the prison called,” she told the other girl quietly, hoping she’d understand what she meant. “Hey, baby, wake up,” she gently rocked the girl in her arms. “Wake up and say hi to Mama.”

The baby groggily opened her eyes. It took her a minute to adjust, but as soon as she noticed Faith, she wiggled to reach her. “Mama, ok?” she asked in her toddler way.

“Mama’s fine, baby,” Faith answered, she wanted to reach out to her baby, but they had her cuffed to the bed. Noticing the cuffs for the first time, Buffy felt sad once again and carefully sat Nevaeh on Faith’s good side. The little girl curled into her mother, not even noticing what the adults were both secretly hating.

“Hey, why don’t you give this family a minute,” Judy interrupted the moment, speaking to the guard. When the guard made no move to leave, she tried again. “Look, I’ll stay in here with them, I have to check her vitals and all that anyway so why don’t you just scoot out. Give me some privacy to do my job. Or do I have to make a fuss?” the fiery redhead spoke with a non-debate attitude. Finally the short blonde left the room to stand on the other side of the door.

“You guys just enjoy your time, I’ll just be in the bathroom over there minding my own business,” she said with a sly smile.

They both watched as the nurse went into the connecting bathroom and shut the door. “What happened, Faith?” Buffy quietly asked as soon as they were alone. “What did this?”

“It was one of the other prisoners, Deb, but it like, wasn’t her, ya know. She was strong, and I know she ain’t that strong normally.”

“Hmm, I’ll have the gang see if they can figure out what happened. I just knew as soon as they called, that it had to be superhuman. No human should have got you like this.”

Faith just shrugged, “It happened all so fast, I wasn’t expecting it, next thing I know I’m waking up here. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course, I had to be sure you were fine. Didn’t think they’d let me see you though.” Noticing their little girl was fast asleep curled next to Faith she smiled. “I don’t know how she knew, but she knew something happened. She’s definitely a Slayer.”

“Damn. Well you’ll just have to do what you can to protect her.”

“Wouldn’t think of doing anything else,” Buffy answered honestly. “Although I think I’ll wait and see more of what she can do before I tell the guys.”

“Probably a good idea,” Faith sighed out, feeling tired. All the drugs in her system weren’t helping.

A thought had occurred to Buffy several times through the night and she knew she just had to say it. “Look, Faith, I’ve been thinking, and maybe now is your chance. Shouldn’t be too hard to get past the guards here.”

“What are you saying, B?”

“I’m saying don’t go back to prison, you don’t belong there anymore.”

Faith sighed again, wishing she could believe that. She’d had the same thoughts. That it would be so easy to just take off and not look back. “I have to go back, B. I gotta finish my sentence.”

“But what about what happened. Something obviously wants you dead. We can’t protect you in there.”

“Its fine, I know not to let my guard down again. Won’t happen again, I promise.” The room fell silent, neither girl knowing what to say. Faith stared down at the baby wrapped around her, wishing she could just touch her. “I want nothing more than to be with her, but I just can’t.” The cuffs on her arms like a giant symbol of how close and yet how far she was from that.

“Well if you won’t get yourself out, I’ll just have to find a way to do it myself,” Buffy smiled, seeing the look on the other girl’s face. “No worries, I just mean, maybe it’s time to get a new lawyer to look at your case.”

“B, seriously, it’s fine, just drop it, aight? I gotta do this, just leave it be.” Faith was determined to do what was right. Buffy wasn’t helping her do that, with all her talk all the time of her getting out. She needed to do this. Buffy needed to understand that.

“Ok, I’ll leave it alone.”

“Thank you.”

“You girls just about done?” Judy asked popping her head out of the bathroom door. “I don’t know how much longer they’ll leave us in here.”

“Yeah we’re done,” Faith answered her.

“Good, then give your daughter a hug, so your girl there can take her home and get her to bed and you can rest.” Faith looked at the nurse like she was nuts, gesturing to her handcuffed hands. “Oh that,” Judy pffted. Walking over, she pulled a key out of her pocket, unlocking the cuffs. “My husband’s a cop, gave me an extra key, always worried about me getting into trouble.”

Faith smiled grateful, wrapping her arms around her daughter tightly. Pressing a soft kiss into her hair, “Love you, baby girl,” she whispered.

Buffy leaned down and before taking Nevaeh, she wrapped her arms gently around Faith. “I’m glad you’re alright. We’ll come see you as soon as we can. And I’ll get the gang looking into things,” she promised. She wiggled Nevaeh gently, “Say bye to Mama, we gotta go.”

Nevaeh opened her eyes enough to lean in and give Faith a kiss on the lips and Buffy lifted her back into her arms. “Bye, Mama,” she said sleepily, falling back into slumber as soon she was against Buffy’s shoulder.

“Thank you so much for doing this, Judy,” Buffy told the older woman. She gave her a one armed hug, grateful for all she did. Buffy gave Faith one more last look before she headed toward the door and out of the room.

“Sorry but we best get you cuffed back up before they decide to come back in,” Judy told Faith, whose eyes were stuck on the door that had just closed.

“Yeah, alright,” Faith answered without thought, putting her arms back to where they were. “Thank you for doing that. It was tearing me apart not being able to hold her.”

“No problem, just wish I would have remembered I had that key before I went into the bathroom,” Judy told her regretfully. As soon as she remembered though she didn’t hesitate to do it for the two girls. She knew they were no threat. She didn’t know how she knew, she just did. “You guys make such a cute family. I hope you get to be together soon.”

Faith didn’t know how to respond. Instead she just let what the woman said fill her head. It stayed with her long after Judy left her room and was replaced with the guard. She fell asleep that night with thoughts of Buffy driving all the way up there in the middle of the night just to see that she was okay.


	15. Chapter 14- Free? (October 2002)

**Chapter 14**

Faith trudged her way back to her cell. After spending two days in the hospital, stuck in bed, bored out of her mind, she was released to be escorted back to the prison. Thanks to her Slayer healing, she had been healed enough to return, leaving the doctors no choice but to do so. She always thought prison was fairly boring, but being stuck in a hospital bed with nothing but the TV to entertain you was far worse.

More than a month had gone by and so far there hadn’t been any other occurrences. Deb had been transferred to maximum security. Faith had heard she’d had to endure a psych evaluation and claimed to not have remembered the event. She believed her. Something supernatural had definitely gone down that day. But it was probably safer for them both if the other woman stayed where she was.

She’d heard briefly from Buffy and the Superfriends a couple of weeks ago. They had a few theories going on but at that point they still didn’t have a concrete reason for what went down. She was hoping they’d figure it out soon so she didn’t have to keep looking over her shoulder all the time.

Laying back on her bunk, she stared at the picture of Nevaeh, smiling at her adorable little girl. She missed her. So bad at times she didn’t know how she got through it all. She hadn’t seen her since that day at the hospital. She understood why they hadn’t come, but it still hurt.

As she stared at the pictures Buffy had sent her, she let sleep overcome her and she hoped she’d have happy dreams.

She couldn’t have been asleep more than a few hours when something startled her awake. The first thing she noticed was that whatever was underneath her was definitely not the bed she’d been sleeping in for the last two years. She could smell the faint scent of smoke and turned her head to see several candles lit around the room. It took her several minutes to gather her bearings, but when she did, she realized immediately where she was. She was in Buffy’s living room.

And she wasn’t alone.

“You’re awake finally,” Buffy spoke next to her.

“Um sure, is this a dream?” Faith asked.  It was the only thing that seemed to make sense to her at the moment.

“Umm…,” Buffy hesitated, not sure how Faith was going to take what she had to tell her. “No, you’re really here.”

“What?” Faith yelled, sitting up. “You gotta send me back right now, B. Before they find me gone.”

Buffy knew this wasn’t going to be easy. But after what they’d learned in the last couple weeks, she knew this is what needed to happen. She just hoped she could get Faith to understand why they had to do it this way. “We can’t do that.”

“Why the hell not?” Faith growled angrily.

“Look just calm down alright? Let me explain.” Faith seemed to calm down if only marginally and Buffy took a deep breath preparing herself for what was going to be a long conversation.

They had finally discovered what had sent the attack on Faith, and what was also going on around the world and it was all connected. Ten days ago a half dozen potential slayers had shown up on her doorstep seeking shelter. Their watchers either killed or remained hold down the area while their charges headed towards Sunnydale. Since then several more had shown up or been found by Willow.

The First was back, Buffy had realized it the first time she saw a Bringer out on patrol, only the night before the first potentials had shown up. They had also traced Faith’s attack back to the big bad. The details were still sketchy, but somehow the First had possessed or done something to make the other inmate super strong.

Then two nights ago they had received a warning that something similar was going to happen again, only this time Faith probably wouldn’t have been able to make it out with just a few minor wounds. It was decided then that they had to get her out. The easiest way they had found was for Willow to use a teleportation spell and so it was decided.

“So you didn’t even bother to ask me?” Faith accused, she had calmed down some, but she was still angry they hadn’t even talked with her about this. They had just gone ahead and done it.

“There wasn’t time. If we were going to do it, we had to do it quickly. We did it to save your life, Faith,” Buffy threw back.

Faith was about to respond back with some retort about how maybe her life wasn’t worth saving when she heard a small “Mama,” as some girl she had never seen before walked in with her daughter in her arms.

“Mama!” the baby squealed more excitedly the second time, reaching for the brunette.

Faith took the toddler into her arms with no hesitation. Holding her close, she felt more calm than she had since she’d got there. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Faith asked the little girl, sure it was past her bedtime.

“She woke up a few minutes ago, no one else was around so I grabbed her and was bringing her to Buffy,” the stranger offered.

“Thanks, Kennedy,” Buffy responded, “You can go back to whatever you were doing now.” The younger brunette didn’t need to be told twice and she headed back up the stairs without another word.

“Look maybe we could have found another way to do this, but does it really matter now? You’re here and you’re safe, well safer than you were in there anyway. Plus someone is very happy to see you,” Buffy smiled, nodding at the little girl that was now snuggled down into Faith’s lap, falling back to sleep.

“I still don’t know about this, B. But I guess maybe I can deal.”

“Good. Because I think we’re really going to need you here for this fight too. After that, we’ll figure out what to do, but for now I think you’re needed here.” The two stared at each other for a moment, seeming to reach an understanding with each other. Faith wasn’t sure how she should be feeling. She was finally free, given it wasn’t by choice, but she was out and she had her daughter in her arms, and life shouldn’t feel this good, especially considering the circumstances.

“Oh and sorry about pulling you out in the middle of the night too. We figured that would be easiest, less chance for witnesses.”

“You’re probably right about that one.”

“It’s late, you wanna carry her upstairs and put her back in bed and we’ll find you something else to wear and get some sleep?”

Faith wasn’t so sure she was ready to let Nevaeh go, but it would be really nice to get out of her prison clothes and wear something normal for once. The two headed up the stairs where Buffy had her lay Nevaeh in the middle of her bed. Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to the little girl’s forehead, whispering a “sleep well” into her hair. Straightening back up, she turned to find Buffy already digging through her drawers.

The other girl apparently found what she was looking for and turned with a pair of sweats in hand. “Sorry, it’s all I got that will likely fit. We’ll find you some more clothes tomorrow.”

“I’s cool,” Faith muttered, grabbing the offered clothing and heading into the connecting bathroom, closing the door behind her. Leaning her back against the door, she sunk down to the floor, taking a deep breath. This whole night was beginning to feel surreal. Maybe it was all a dream and she’d wake up back in her bunk and everything would be normal.

Standing back up, she sat the clothes on the countertop. Leaning up against the sink, she stared long into the mirror in front of her. She stood there trying to tell herself she wasn’t the same girl that had been here the last time. All the memories were coming flooding back of the girl she used to be and she was struggling to keep them back.

Splashing cold water on her face, she took one last deep breath and turned to strip her prison uniform off her body. Throwing the sweats on, she reached for the doorknob but hesitated. She stood there giving herself another minute to pull herself together. She didn’t want to go out there and have everyone see the emotions that were surely playing across her face. Especially Buffy. They’d probably have to talk sometime soon about everything that went down, but she wasn’t ready to do that tonight.

She opened the door to the hallway, figuring she was bunking on the couch, she headed down the stairs. She was surprised to see that not only was the couch taken, but bodies covered the entire living room floor.

“Faith,” Buffy called from the kitchen. She turned around and made her way to the back of the house. The other girl was leaning up against the counter, spoon in hand as she ate a yogurt. Faith smiled, remembering how the girl claimed that was what she craved after a good slay. The younger slayer always knew that was just to cover what she knew they both felt.

“Hey, B, so where am I sleepin?” she asked casually.

“Oh that,” Buffy paused, “Well as you can see there are girls everywhere. Which is why Nevaeh sleeps with me now. So if you don’t mind, we figured you could just sleep with the two of us.”

“Oh, um, sure, that’s fine I guess,” Faith stumbled over her words.

“I mean it shouldn’t be that big a deal right? It’s not like we’re strangers, and well, we so pretty much share a child, so…” the blond left the sentence open, not sure where she was going with that train of thought.

“Yeah, right, it’s fine,” Faith repeated.

Buffy finished her yogurt, throwing it in the trash and the spoon in the sink, before leading the way back up the stairs. The two crawled on the bed and laid down slowly, still unsure about this whole arrangement.

Long after she heard Buffy fall asleep, Faith was wide awake. She couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Too many thoughts were running through her head and she wasn’t sure how to get them to stop. She was worried about what tomorrow would bring. She was now a fugitive, and although it wasn’t really by choice, that was something she’d have to live with. Although knowing it was Buffy who made that decision for her, in a small way made it a little easier to deal with. At least this way she knew she had someone behind her.

Nevaeh began moving in her sleep, curling herself into Faith’s side. For a minute she just laid there unmoving, not sure what to do. Instinct was quick to take over and she wrapped her arms around the tot, holding her close. Yeah she could definitely deal with situation, so long as she had her little girl. The only thing she truly feared was never seeing her baby again. A calm finally overcame her and she slipped into slumber, never letting go of her daughter.

\--

“Mama, Mama, waked up!” Nevaeh yelled hovering over top of Faith. She wanted breakfast and her Mama was still sleeping and she didn’t know where her Mommy went. She also really wanted to go potty and was trying to be a big girl and not go in her pull-up, but she was supposed to have someone help her and she wanted that to be her Mama.

For the second time, Faith woke up unsure of where she was. When she saw a head of dark curly hair in front of her, she wondered if she was still asleep dreaming of her daughter. That was until she heard a very loud and high pitched, “MAMA!” No dream kid could make that kind of noise. The night came back to her as she sat up, staring at her daughter.

“What, baby?”

“I go potty.”

“Oh um, hmm,” Faith wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. Was she still in diapers? If she was why would she be telling her she had to go, wouldn’t she just go? But B never said anything about her being in underwear in their last chats. She was just beginning to think she needed to call for Buffy when the other girl appeared in the doorway.

“I thought I heard you two awake.”

“Mommy, go potty,” the little girl repeated.

“Well come on then,” the blonde answered.

“NO! Mama go,” the tot demanded stubbornly.

Buffy turned to Faith, “I believe that means she wants you to take her.”

“But, umm,” Faith floundered for how to say she didn’t have a clue what to do.

“It’s easy really, you just need to help her get seated on the toilet and help her ya know wipe. Then put on a fresh pull-up, they are under the sink. She still has accidents, especially at night, so we haven’t moved to underwear yet. But she’s getting better. Aren’t ya, baby?” She finished running a hand down the girl’s nose, making her giggle.

Faith nodded her head like she understood. Picking the little one up, she headed into the bathroom, hoping she didn’t mess up her first real job as a mom. She helped Vaeh pull off her pajama bottoms and pulled the soiled pull-up off her. There were a couple others in the trash, so she added it to the garbage, before finding a new one where Buffy told her they’d be.

Faith helped the little girl up to the sink to wash her hands before doing her own. “Bekfast,” Vaeh stated more than asked. Faith just nodded her head, picking the girl up and throwing her on her shoulders to carry her down the stairs. The babe squealed with laughter as Faith galloped down the stairs, holding on tight to her Mama’s head.

Seeing the booster seat attached to one of the bar stools, she slid the girl down into it, making sure she was secure. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Charms!”

Faith turned her questioning look to Buffy, who was leaning up against the counter eating a bowl of cereal. “She wants Lucky Charms. They are over there,” she pointed to the cupboard where all the cereal was kept. While Faith got them out, Buffy turned to pull one of the kid bowls out of the drainer and set the milk down in front of Vaeh so that Faith could fix her a bowl.

No sooner had Faith finished pouring the milk, when Nevaeh dug into her bowl with zeal. “Yeah she eats like you,” Buffy teased.

Faith just laughed before grabbing her own bowl out of the drainer and pouring herself some cereal. “Glad she’s got an appetite then.”

“Yeah that’s cause you haven’t had to buy the groceries,” Buffy teased again, realizing as soon as she said it Faith could take it the wrong way.

It did stun Faith for a minute, but she let it roll off her, knowing Buffy didn’t mean anything by it. The blonde pointed out some fruit, if she wanted that too, and Faith grabbed a banana, cutting up a few pieces to share with Nevaeh. “So what we doing today?” Faith asked, wondering what was going to happen now.

“Well I have to go to work. I’ve been working at the high school a couple days a week, between my shifts at the Magic Box. Keeping an eye on the Hellmouth mostly.”

“Can’t believe they rebuilt that school.”

“Me either, but I don’t plan on it going unattended. Anyway, you can do whatever you want, just might want to lay low. Nevaeh’s been staying here with the girls, so you can just be with her. I’m sure you want to spend time with her. And if you want to help the potentials with some of their training exercises.”

“Probably need to do some of that myself. Only so much you can do to train in a prison gym.”

Buffy finished off her coffee, putting both her mug and her cereal bowl in the sink. “Well the girls know Nevaeh’s schedule so if you need any help just ask one of them. My cell number is posted on the board in the living room if you need anything.”

“I’m sure I can handle it,” Faith said with more confidence than she felt. She didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but obviously Buffy trusted her or she wouldn’t just be leaving her this easily.

“Alright then,” She walked over to the toddler, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Bye, baby. Mommy will be back later.”

“Bye, Mommy,” Nevaeh says giving Buffy a kiss on the lips.

“See ya later, Faith,” the blonde says as she walks towards the living room. Faith watches her walk until she sees the older girl walk out the door. Time alone with her baby. That was something she thought she’d never get to have. She couldn’t wait.

“Look. Mama,” the tot said proudly. “I have hat.”

Faith turned to see the cereal bowl now on Nevaeh’s head, milk running down her face. She took back everything she just thought. Today was going to be a long day. Starting with figuring out how to give the girl a bath. She smiled, looking forward to her chance to be a mom.


	16. Chapter 15- Mama Faith (October 2002)

**Chapter 15**

Buffy walked in the house that afternoon to see her daughter running through the living room, completely naked.

“Get me, Mama,” the little girl taunted Faith who was right behind her. The girl was as fast as her mother though, showing off another possible Slayer power. Faith couldn’t seem to get the upper hand on the tot.

“Get back here you little imp and get some clothes on. You can’t run around naked.” Faith dashed around the coffee table, but as she did so, Vaeh slid underneath it, keeping them on opposite sides.

Buffy couldn’t believe the sight before her. They had obviously been at this for awhile, and while Faith seemed to be slowing down, the toddler showed no signs of doing the same. She tried to hold in the smile as she watched Faith with their daughter. “Nevaeh Anne Lehane Summers,” Buffy yelled, trying to keep a straight face as she used the little girl’s full name.

“Mommy!” the toddler squealed, running up to her other mother, forgetting almost immediately the game she had been playing just minutes before.

Buffy leaned down to pick the naked child up and give her a hug, before turning serious again. “Nevaeh, you know you’re not supposed to run around the house without clothes on. So why are you making Mama chase you around?” Nevaeh knew how to work her mother and quickly turned on what could only be described as the Summers pout, hoping to get out of trouble. “Hey, don’t be turning that pout on me, you best go give Mama a hug in apology and let her put your clothes back on.”

As soon as her feet hit the floor again, Nevaeh wandered over to where Faith was now sitting on the couch, the girl’s clothes sitting next to her. She reached her arms up, signalling her Mama to pull her up on the couch with her. Wrapping her arms around Faith’s shoulders, she gave her a tight hug. The two quickly put her clothes on, and Nevaeh once again hit the floor running to find a potential to play with her, leaving her parents to talk.

“Sorry, B. Went to get her up from her nap and she was already awake and naked.”

“You don’t need to apologize. She’s your daughter too. Besides, lately I’ve been having a hard time keeping clothes on her too. She seems to love being naked. Wonder where she gets that?” Buffy smirked teasingly at Faith.

 _Hey now, wait a minute, just ‘cause I used to enjoy sex doesn’t mean I always wanted to be naked_ , Faith thought to herself. But then, she had a rockin’ body and she knew it, so guess it’s wasn’t an entirely off base assumption. “Well ya know what they say. Like mother, like daughter. And us Lehane’s look wicked awesome naked. More than I can say for you Summers chicks,” Faith teases back.

“Not going there, Faith,” Buffy tells her, she didn’t even want to think along those lines, much less have a conversation with Faith of all people about it.

“Whatever you say, B,” Faith smirks again, secretly wondering where Buffy’s head just went. Changing the subject, “this parentin’ gig is hard work, dunno how ya do it.”

Buffy thought about that, it was definitely hard in the beginning, having another life so dependent on you. Even to a Slayer, having the world on your shoulders is a lot different than having a tiny being depending on you for every need. Parenting was by far harder than slaying. More often than not though it had much better rewards. “It’s not so hard once you get used it.”

“You sure seem to know what you’re doin’,” Faith wondered aloud, more than actually stating it.

“I’m still learning, some things you just have to make up as you go along. You’ll figure it out, what works and what doesn’t. At least I had my mom in the beginning. She really helped me get the hang of it.”

“Sucks about your mom, didn’t really hit me, until I was here all day and she wasn’t. Seemed weird,” Faith said, sympathy evident in her voice.

“Yeah it was hard, but we made it through. She loved Vaeh so much. I think it made her happy to see me with Vaeh. You know all mother’s want to see their kids with families some day.”

Faith didn’t comment, her Ma probably wouldn’t have given two shits to know she had a granddaughter. She’d never be that way with her baby. Her Ma was the perfect example of what not to be. “Sorry, Faith,” the blonde said, knowing Faith would understand.

“It’s a’ight. It is what it is. Just makes me want to make sure Vaeh is raised right.” The two both stared at each other for a minute thinking. “You know that stinker sure is fast. I was chasing her for a good fifteen minutes before you walked in. Maybe we should start seeing what she can do.”

“I was thinking the same thing. But I don’t want the gang to know, until we have a better idea of what that is. So we need someplace where we won’t have eyes all around.”

“What about Angel’s old mansion?” Faith suggested. “Anybody using that?”

Buffy thought about it for a minute. “Not that I know of. We’ll have to check it out tonight. I was thinking you and I could go on patrol solo tonight. Give ya a chance to get back in the game.” And also it would give them an idea of where Faith was in skill level, having not been able to do anything for the last couple years.

“Sounds good. Be nice to get out there and get dirty again,” Faith says, her normal innuendo clearly evident in her tone. Obviously prison hadn’t changed some of Faith’s traits. “Been itching for a good slay for two years now,” she finished with a grunt.

Buffy just smiles, not rising to the bait. “Yeah well, try not to have too much fun.” There was something else that Buffy had been thinking about all day while at work. “In the meantime, feel like surrounding yourself with a bunch of kids?”

Faith stared at Buffy clearly confused as to just what she was asking. “It’s playgroup night. I was thinking we’d just skip it, but then Vaeh would be disappointed on seeing Kyler. So I figured maybe you’d want to tag along,” Buffy explained.

“You sure, B?” She wanted to go, but she didn’t know how much other parents knew about her and she didn’t want to cause any problems. She knew how much Nevaeh loved going to see all her friends, and she wanted to keep that as a special time for her little girl.

“I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t. You don’t have to worry, I really only talk to a few of the other parents around there and they all know Vaeh has another Mom, but I’ve never told them where you were. The only one that knows is Kyler’s mom, Sara, and well, she knows about us now. In a weird twist of fate, her little sister is one of the potentials staying here. So we filled her in a few days ago.”

“That should be surprising, but in our world, it’s not.”

“Yeah it was a shock to her family though. They are actually from out east somewhere. Sara was just going to school here. Only reason they agreed to send Sam here was because her sister would be nearby. She was like us, never had a watcher, so didn’t know what she was until Bringers went after her. Luckily Sara told Tara about it, otherwise we might have missed her too.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Willow’s been running locator spells, but it’s not enough, you know? There are so many girls out there who have no idea what’s after them. And we don’t know how the Bringers are finding them, so we have no idea how to get ahead of them.”

Faith knew now how much she was needed here. They were dealing with something big, something going after girls all over the world. She decided Buffy was right in pulling her out of prison. She’d figure out what to do after this was over, but for now, she’d enjoy the time she was given. “Well back on topic, when do we leave?”

“Twenty minutes good for you?” Faith just nodded her head, wasn’t like she needed to do anything before they left. “Nevaeh,” Buffy shouted, hoping wherever their daughter had taken off to she’d hear her. She really didn’t want to get up and go look for her. “We gotta get ya ready if you want to go see Kyler today.”

Faster than lightening, the girl came racing into the room, “Kyer?”

“Yep, go get the bag out of the bathroom so I can do your hair.” Nevaeh ran back the way she came, knowing exactly what her mother was talking about, grabbed it off the shelf and ran straight back to the couch where both her mother’s sat.

Buffy pulled her up onto the couch to sit between her legs and began combing the tangles out of her curly hair. “Baby, you need to slow down in the house.” Buffy always feared with all the people and objects in the house right now that one day Vaeh was going to get really hurt.

“Kay,” the babe replied, just as she always did. But Buffy knew she’d be running through the house again next chance she got. It was an endless cycle of reminding her and repeating herself over and over again.

Buffy parted the girl’s hair down the middle in a zigzag pattern, before pulling each side up into a ponytail. She let the short curls spill whichever way, making each ponytail almost look like a flower atop the girls head.

Faith watched Buffy work in utter fascination. Feeling suddenly inept at even being able to do something as simple as her daughter’s hair. “Where’d ya learn to do that?” she asked the blonde.

“Lots of practice, and several videos on the internet showing you different things to try.”

Hmm, maybe she’d have to see if she could get a hold of a computer when no one was looking. Maybe she could find some other help to this whole mothering thing. B was still number one mom, but so long as she was here, she wanted to try and feel like the mother she always wanted to be to her daughter.

“Alright, go find your shoes, munchkin, and we’ll leave.” Nevaeh was running as soon as her feet hit the ground.

“Does that girl ever slow down?” Faith asked.

“No, she really doesn’t. It’s like she’s always full of energy and can’t seem to control it. I just wonder if it’s another part of her possible Slayer abilities,” Buffy almost whispers in case anyone was in earshot.

“Hmm, could be.”

“Even as fast as she’d going though, she never runs into anything. Like she has control and instinct. I still worry though.”

“Yeah, understandable.”

“Mama? Pitty?” the toddler asks when she comes back into the room with her shoes on the wrong feet.

“She’s asking if you think she’s pretty,” Buffy supplied quietly to the brunette.

Faith figured that was what she was doing, but it was nice to have confirmation. “Very Pretty. Come here so we can fix your shoes though.” The toddler raced over, jumping into Faith’s arms so she could be lifted onto the couch once again. Faith quickly pulled her shoes off, switching them. “Nice try kiddo, but they go the other way,” she told the girl, as she finished hooking the Velcro back together. “You ready?”

“Kyer!” Vaeh shouts, pointing at the door as she heads towards the front.

\--

They had been at the playground for all of fifteen minutes and already Faith could see why Buffy said she only talked to a few other parents. So far none had come up to introduce themselves, and if she wasn’t wrong it was almost like being in high school. The other parents all huddled together with their own little cliques. “Damn, B, it’s like being in high school all over again.”

Buffy smiles, “Yeah that’s a good assessment. And once again we’re the outsiders.”

A woman with a little boy in her arms headed their way, saving Faith from having to respond. She figured this was Sara and Kyler, since she was the only one not seeming to avoid them.

“Hello, sorry we were running late today,” Sara says, putting Kyler down on the floor so he could go off to where Nevaeh was playing. “You must be Faith, I’m Sara,” she introduces herself, holding out her hand in greeting.

Faith takes it questioningly, “Ya I am, how’d ya know?”

“Wasn’t hard to figure out, Nevaeh looks just like you,” Sara answers, smiling.

Faith just nods her head, knowing everybody said that. She couldn’t say she really saw why they did though. Sure they had similar hair and what not. She didn’t know why, but her daughter reminded her like more of a Summers though, maybe it was just that nurture over nature shit she’d heard about in her psychology class. She sure had the pout down cold.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody about you,” Sara tried to reassure, wondering if that’s why Faith seemed so uneasy. Tara had told her in class several days ago that they were working on a way to get her out of prison, and they might have to do it illegally if they couldn’t do it legally.

She’d also spent many hours with Buffy during their days in group talking about Faith. She knew the blonde believed she didn’t belong in there. And now knowing what Buffy was, she trusted her judgment. So she wasn’t worried about what this girl could do to them. Trusting that she was here to help fight the good fight.

The conversation was cut short when Nevaeh called Faith over. She pointed at the small swing set that was on the jungle gym and Faith knew exactly what she was asking without even trying. She lifted both Nevaeh and Kyler into the swing seats designed for toddlers and began pushing them both gently.

“Higer Mama,” Nevaeh squealed. Faith quickly did as commanded, but tried her best to keep the little boy at a lower swing, seeing the boy wasn’t as comfortable as her daughter. Ok, some of her traits where definitely Faith like, she was going to be a risk taker that much was obvious.

The tots soon grew bored of that and went off to play with some of the toys leaving Faith to wander back to where Buffy sat talking to Sara. The blonde scooted over on the benching, leaving room for Faith to sit down beside her. “Having fun?”

Faith couldn’t help the smile that overcame her. “Yeah, actually I am having a lot of fun. It’s nice just to be able to enjoy spending time with her, without worrying about what the guards will think.”

Buffy placed her hand on top of Faith’s where it sat on her thigh, squeezing it gently. “You’re not the only one,” she lifted her hand to gently pat Faith’s shoulder, before sitting it back in her own lap.

Sara just watched the exchange with a smile on her face.


	17. Chapter 16- The Return (October 2002)

**Chapter 16**

The cemetery was eerily quiet as the light and dark Slayer made their way silently between the head stones. They had been out for quite awhile and so far the night had been fairly uneventful. Faith was itching for a fight.

“It’s quiet tonight,” Buffy said unnecessarily.

“Damn and I was really hoping for some action tonight,” Faith muttered back. “Been too long and my body is crawling for a good fight.”

“Sorry patrol isn’t to your satisfaction,” Buffy responded sarcastically back, but with no malice. She understood the other girl’s frustration. Prison couldn’t be easy on a Slayer. Not enough space and opportunity to really stretch your muscles, give them the daily workout they really needed. She couldn’t even imagine how hard that had to have been for Faith.

Faith just shrugged her shoulders, “Guess we’re really heading for a nasty battle.”

“Looks that way.” Buffy knew what Faith meant. When the nights got quiet like this, it meant whatever big bad they were facing probably had something up their sleeve. And so early in the game didn’t give her much hope of beating this thing. “Maybe we should just head home.”

“Or…” Faith paused for effect, “we could head to Willy’s and find something to beat up there.”

“Faith, you know as well as I do most of them are harmless. No need to go inviting more trouble than we need right now.”

Faith looked at Buffy defeated, but she knew the other girl was right. They had enough to deal with, with the First coming after them, they really didn’t need to go looking for trouble. But she still couldn’t help feeling like she needed a chance to work out the kinks seeming to crawl under her skin.

“Well how about we do some sparring when we get back to the house?” Buffy offered, trying to find a way for the younger girl to relieve some of what she was feeling.

“How about now,” Faith smirked, getting down into a fighting stance. Buffy followed, thinking that here was probably better anyway, without all the midget Slayers around to stare. Although later this might be a good thing to showcase some skills and moves to them, but now was about Faith getting back in the game.

Buffy was impressed, as they traded blows back and forth, Faith seemed to easily keep up with her. The younger girl hadn’t seemed to lost her edge in her brief incarceration. The blonde went for a right hook, followed quickly by her left hand hoping to catch Faith off guard, hoping she wouldn’t expect both to come simultaneously, but Faith grabbed both hands easily pulling her hard, up against her, before sending her flying onto her back.

Buffy swung her legs in the air, easily bouncing back onto her feet, but Faith was there waiting for her to do just that. She swiped a leg underneath her, knocking Buffy back down the ground, but this time she climbed on top, holding the blonde’s hands above her head.

“Looks like I haven’t lost my edge,” she smirked. Buffy didn’t try to fight back, trying to get her breathing to return to normal after having been knocked to the ground not once but twice.  Faith just stared down at the older girl, waiting for her to retaliate, wanting to be ready for it, but it never came. Instead the two ended up looking deeply into each other’s eyes.

Neither girl was sure what was going on, but they were saved from having to figure it out, when they both heard a twig snap off in the distance. Faith tightened her hold on Buffy’s hands for a minute before standing up, heading off to investigate where the sound came from, leaving Buffy alone to gather herself.

Faith headed for a group of trees where she thought the sound had come from. A tall dark figure stood behind a tree, hidden from the moonlight so all she could see was a shadow. The figure didn’t appear to feel threatened as she approached though and stayed where they were. She vaguely recognized the blond vampire as she got close enough to see him clearly, cigarette held between his lips.

“Don’t let me stop you two birds, looked kinda hot,” the vampire spoke to Faith.

She couldn’t recall where she’d seen this one before, but she was sure she had. “Yeah, well, I’m not one for an audience, specially when it’s from some slimy vamp,” Faith snarled back.

“Spike,” Buffy said surprised, finally having caught up to where the other two were standing. “When did you get back in town?” she asked disdainfully.

“Just arrived,” the blond man responded happily.

“Where’d ya go?”

“That, Blondie, is none of your business.”

“Yeah well, just stay out of my way,” Buffy said before walking away, heading towards the cemetery exit.

Faith stood there trying to figure out what just happened. When no answers came immediately, she to left, running in the direction Buffy had gone. “Hey, B, what was that about?” she asked when she’d finally caught up to the other Slayer.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“It’s not nothing, B. I may not be your best bud, but I know you well enough, and that was not nothing.”

“Just leave it, Faith,” Buffy tried again to get her to drop it.

“No. Not when something obviously happened between you and a vampire that isn’t dead. Now what happened?” Faith questioned again. She knew there was something Buffy was hiding.

Buffy knew Faith wasn’t going to drop it. But how could she tell her something she hadn’t even bothered to tell her friends. None of them knew about that day in the bathroom. “Ok, but you can’t say anything, my friends don’t know.” She waited for Faith to nod her head in agreement before continuing. “Spike’s always had this like crush on me or whatever. I always rejected his advances, making it clear I wasn’t interested. Well he didn’t take it so well I guess. The last time I saw him, he cornered me in my bathroom and tried to rape me.”

“What? Buffy?” Faith shouted. She wasn’t expecting that. “Why is he still walking around? I’m gonna go stake his ass right now.”

“No, Faith. Just leave it. Please? He didn’t succeed and it’s over.”

“How can you say that? He tried to RAPE you, Buffy. How is that okay?” The brunette couldn’t believe it.

Buffy knew Faith was livid over this whole thing. She’d used Buffy’s name not once but twice, but she didn’t know why. “He’s harmless, got a chip in his head, can’t hurt anything. Just leave it alone. It won’t happen again.”

“If he had a chip, how could he do that to you?” Faith asked, not sure that made any sense.

Buffy just shrugged, she’s wondered that too, but never came up with a solid answer. “I don’t know.”

“Ya well, if he ever tries anything again…”

“He won’t,” Buffy interrupted.

Faith wasn’t so sure. The minute that asshole made one wrong move, you better believe he was dust. She was really hoping he would try something just so she could stake his ass. She couldn’t do anything about the men in her own childhood. Hell most of them were probably dead anyway, but she could do this for Buffy. She just needed to have a good reason so Buffy wouldn’t be pissed at her. She couldn’t understand why the blonde was protecting him, but she’d respect it for now.

When they got back to the house, Buffy headed straight upstairs to shower and get to bed. Faith was still hyped up to sleep just yet, so she made her way into the kitchen and opened the fridge, hoping there was something to make a sandwich with. With all the wannabes in the house you never knew. But they all believed the house would only get fuller the closer they got to the actual battle.

She finished off her sandwich off in three big bites, licking the mayo off her fingers. Finding one of Xander’s beers in the fridge she popped the top of the can open, figuring he wouldn’t mind. She took a big gulp as she headed down the stairs to the basement, wanting to work some of her frustration off on the punching bag.

Taking one last gulp of the beer, she sat it down on a small table near the stairs. Grabbing up a pair of gloves, she hooked them tightly onto her hands. Walking to stand in front of the bag, she wiggled her shoulders to get out the kinks, she took aim and began her workout.

More than a half hour went by before she let herself slow down, sweat beading down her forehead. Slipping the gloves off, she sat them down where she found them. Grabbing the beer she finished it in one swift gulp, crushing the can in her hands as she walked back up the stairs and threw it in the garbage.

When she got up to Buffy’s bathroom, she turned the shower on, hoping she didn’t wake anybody. She stripped and stepped into the lukewarm water, trying to cool down some, but didn’t want to freeze herself out. She ran her hands through her hair, chasing the sweat away. After washing her hair and body, she stepped out and wrapped herself in towel. Realizing she didn’t bring anything into the room to change into, she opened the connecting door to the bedroom and rummaged through the bags of clothes they bought earlier that day.

She quickly slipped on a pair of boxer shorts and wife beater. Using the towel to pull as much water from her hair as possible, she threw it in the hamper and walked over to her side of the bed. Buffy was already sound asleep with Nevaeh tucked into her side. They both looked so peaceful, and so much like a family. She wanted to be a part of it.

Slipping under the covers, she scooted close to her daughter, placing a hand on the little girls side, underneath where Buffy’s own currently rested. She placed a small kiss into the girl’s hair, she didn’t think she’d ever get used to that feeling. Silently wishing them both a goodnight, she quickly followed them into slumber.

\--

Faith woke the next morning and opened her eyes to see eyes so like her own staring at her.

“Mama?” the toddler tried to whisper, but didn’t succeed.

“Yes, baby?” she asked laughing.

“Kiss,” was all the little girl added. She didn’t give Faith a chance to respond before leaning closer and placing a lip on her mother’s mouth.

“What are you doing awake anyhow?” Faith asked the tot, looking over Buffy’s shoulder to see that it was only 5:58 in the morning. “Should you still be sleeping?” Nevaeh just shrugged her shoulders.

Buffy who had been listening to the whole exchange, leaned up and carefully as she could, motioning for Faith to stay quiet. She waited for just the right moment, grabbing the girl she pulled her closer and began tickling her before Nevaeh even had a chance to figure out what was happening.

The girl squealed with laughter, trying to wiggle away. When that didn’t work she tried to look at Faith. “Mama, help.”

“You want me to help?” Faith just asked with a smile, watching as the tot tried to nod her head. “Hmm, how could I do that?” she pretended to think about it. After a minute she leaned in as if to swat Buffy’s hands away, but instead started tickling the girl under her chin, making the one year old squeal even louder.

“No fair,” Nevaeh tried to pout, but the smile never left her face. “Help me, Mama,” she tried again.

“Oh you wanted me to help you?” Faith pretended to be confused, pulling her hands away from the girl. Faith watched Vaeh try to nod her head again, while still trying to wiggle away from Buffy’s tickle assault. She waited for a minute more, letting it appear she wasn’t sure what to do. When she saw her opening she reached out for Buffy’s side and began giving it the same treatment. Buffy jumped, trying to pull away, but Faith was too quick and held her close with one hand while she used the other to continue to tickle Buffy.

“Stop…Faith…Stop…” she tried but couldn’t quite get it out clearly through her own laughter. Nevaeh not wanting to be left out, reached for Buffy’s other side and tried in her own way to tickle her.

“Mommy, funny,” Vaeh laughed when they finally left her alone to catch her breath.

“You guys are mean,” Buffy pretended to pout.

“Sorry, Mommy,” Nevaeh finished by kissing her on the cheek. “Love you.”

“I love you too, baby.” Buffy pulled the girl down on top of her hugging her tight.

“Mama love us?” Nevaeh asked, turning to look at Faith.

The brunette wasn’t sure what to do. It was one thing to hug her daughter, but her and Buffy didn’t do that. The blonde nodded her head at Faith, silently giving her permission, knowing where the other girl’s thoughts had wandered.

“Yes Mama loves ya.” Faith laid down close to Buffy, wrapping an arm around Nevaeh, essentially pulling them both close for a group hug. They stayed like that for several minutes, watching as Nevaeh yawned and her eyes began to close. But no sooner had they both thought she was back asleep, when she jumped back up shouting “Potty!” and bounced off the bed in the direction of the bathroom.

“Guess one of us needs to go with her,” Buffy spoke through her own yawn, her eyes closing.

“I’m guessing that means me,” Faith muttered, seeing Buffy was pretty much already back to sleep.

Entering the bathroom, Nevaeh’s pajamas and pull-up were strewn across the floor and she was sitting naked on the toilet. “Did you really have to take all your clothes off to go to the bathroom?”

Nevaeh just smiled nodding her head. “Done,” she announced. She helped the girl clean herself, but when she turned to grab a fresh pull-up, the girl was off and running.

“Not this again.” Grabbing the pull-up she took off after the child. Nevaeh had headed back into the bedroom, but realized she was stuck when she got to the door and it was closed tight. She tried in vain to open it, but couldn’t quite manage to get her hands to turn the knob just yet.

“Alright you little streaker, you’re cornered. Now I’ll make you a deal, you come over here and get this pull-up on and I won’t make you put on clothes until after breakfast.” Nevaeh’s face lit up with excitement, thinking that was the best deal ever and got her pull-up.

Inside Faith was applauding herself. She not only got Nevaeh to cooperate with her, but this would probably work out for both of them. This way she wouldn’t have to change the girl’s clothes again later if the girl makes a mess with her breakfast.

Picking Nevaeh up, the two headed down the stairs in search of some food. “What do you want today?”

“Cakes,” Nevaeh shouted from her booster.

“Cakes?” Faith asked, not sure what her daughter was talking about.

“She means pancakes,” Kennedy supplied, walking into the kitchen. Faith nodded her head, grateful someone else was awake that understood Nevaeh’s speech.

“I don’t suppose we have some of the frozen kind?”

Kennedy laughed, shaking her head no. Walking over to the pantry, she pulled the pancake mix out as well as the coffee beans. Handing one to Faith and heading over to the coffee maker. “It’s easy, just mix it with water, and cook it on like medium.”

Five burnt pancakes later, Faith was sending Kennedy a death glare to where she sat at the bar sipping her coffee. “Easy huh?”

Although each attempt she was learning and finally by the sixth one, she had a pretty good one. Flipping it onto one of Nevaeh’s Mickey Mouse plates, she added butter and syrup before cutting it up. Proud of herself, she was learning. She’d have this crap figured out soon enough, she hoped.

Seeing Nevaeh content with her food, she turned back to the stove, smiling as she poured more batter onto the pan, hoping she’d be able to make some for herself before going through all the batter.


	18. Chapter 17- Slayer Skills (October 2002)

**Chapter 17**

Faith managed to make several more pancakes without burning any more of them. She wouldn’t let it show, but she was pretty proud of herself. Lesson number… one: Learning to make your child pancakes, got a big check mark. Now if only she could pick up the rest of the motherhood lessons as quickly.

Kennedy just sat there watching her, and occasionally laughing, but never offered to jump in. Several more potentials began to wake up and the smell of fresh pancakes led them into the kitchen. But they were all disappointed when Faith made it clear they’d have to make their own if they wanted some. She had a few left, so she stored them in the oven to keep them warm, warning the girls if anyone touched them they’d find out what the term Slayer really meant.

Looking her daughter over closely, she was glad she had decided to wait to dress the little girl. Nevaeh had syrup on every inch of her body it appeared. “Let’s say we get you cleaned up and then we’ll take Mommy some breakfast. Sound good?” Nevaeh only nodded her head in agreement.

Seeing the mess Faith had to clean up, Kennedy smirked. “I’ll just leave you to it then,” acting as if she was going to wander out of the room.

“Brat! Hey, will you run up and get me some clothes for the little rugrat and a fresh pull-up? That way I can just bath her down here and we don’t wake Buffy up yet.”

“Aye, Aye, Captain,” Kennedy mock saluted Faith, setting down her coffee mug, she wandered out of the room.

“As for you little girl,” the brunette started, picking Nevaeh up and holding her away from her body so she too didn’t get syrup all over herself. “You’re getting hosed down.”

Tossing the toddler in the tub, she gave her a quick bath, before dressing her in jeans and an animal print t-shirt, that Kennedy had found and brought to her. She brushed the girl’s hair out, but she wasn’t even going to attempt to do it. She’d leave that chore for Buffy.

Walking with Nevaeh back into the kitchen, she checked to see that the pancakes were still warm in the oven, relieved that they still were. Finding a pan, she decided to use that as a makeshift tray and started putting everything on it. “Now, what else does your mom usually like for breakfast?”

“Assle,” Vaeh exclaimed, pointing to the bowl of fruit on the counter.

“Apple,” Faith repeated trying to stress the ‘p’ sound. “Got it. Anything else?”

“Coppee.”                                                                                                                                          

“Coffee, right,” Faith should have figured that one out herself. _Kid can say p’s in coffee but makes apple sound like a swear word_ , Faith thought to herself, as she filled up a small mug up with coffee. “Think we got everything. Ready to go surprise Mommy with some breakfast?”

“Yay!” Vaeh shouted, running for the stairs.

Faith grabbed the makeshift tray and followed the toddler to the stairs. They made their way up slowly since Nevaeh still didm’t have the hang of climbing them and climbed up on hands and knees. Balancing the tray in one hand, she opened the door with the other to find Buffy still fast asleep.

Nevaeh ran over to the bed and jumped on it. “Mommy, we gots you bekfast.”

“Mmm smells good,” Buffy said, stretching to sit back up against the headboard. “You two are so sweet,” Buffy smiled at Faith.

“Ya, well, it was the kid’s idea.”

Buffy just looked at Faith with the smile still plastered on her face. “I’m sure it was. Thank you, baby,” she finished, kissing the little girl on the forehead before Faith sat the tray across her lap. “You can sit down ya know.” Buffy said between bites of food, seeing the uncertainty in Faith’s eyes. “I’m guessing you two already ate.”

“Mama made cakes.”

“I see that. They are delicious. So how many did ya burn,” Buffy asked, turning to Faith.

“Hey, who said I burnt any?” Faith asked indignantly.

“Alright, then how many did you throw in the trash because they were inedible?” the blonde tried again. She could see Faith wanted to pout at the teasing, but she wasn’t about to let loose of that tough exterior. She could see the walls the younger girl had put back up in the last couple days. She was really hoping she’d let them down again once she got more comfortable being here. She missed the Faith she’d seen during the visits to the prison. The Faith with her daughter was still the same though, so there was hope.

Faith wasn’t about to answer Buffy’s question though. There was something else that was on her mind. “B, we gotta talk. About last night.”

And the teasing was over Buffy could tell. She wasn’t talking about the…, whatever that hell that was, was she? “What about last night?”

“I wanna know why?”

Ok, Faith was sure being cryptic. It didn’t seem like she really wanted to talk about this either, so why was she bringing it up? “You’re going to have to give me a little more to go on here. Why what?”

“I know I’ve got skills and all that but I know you let me kick your ass…” Faith paused, seeing Buffy glance at Nevaeh as if to say “language.” “I mean butt, last night when we were sparring. I wanna know why?”

Oh, that, Buffy thought. She didn’t know why she felt relieved, wasn’t like she was thinking of anything more than that. “I was just trying to help you relieve some tension, didn’t think it mattered.”

“That’s all it was?”

“Yes that’s all it was,” Buffy promised, but really she wasn’t sure what it was. She hadn’t even realized that was what she was doing. They were just having fun and letting Faith blow off some steam. She wanted Faith to feel good about herself so maybe that was part of it, but really nothing more than that surely.

\--

“Should we show ‘em how it’s really done, B?” Faith smirked a week later. The Chosen Two had each been spending several hours every day teaching the potentials different moves and different styles, letting the girls become more comfortable with the moves. Several of the girls had never even thrown a punch, so they held off having them spar until they were more sure of themselves. Today was the first day they were allowed to use the skills they had learned against each other.

“Bring it on, F,” Buffy grinned back. There would be no holding back by either one of them today. The prison Faith was coming out by bits and pieces, but she still held that vulnerability back that Buffy had only had a few glances of. The blonde was so lost in thoughts of Faith she almost missed the younger girl’s swing at her, but managed to come to just in time to easily block it, and the fight was on.

“And that’s how it’s done,” Buffy said, smirking more than fifteen minutes later, standing over a downed Faith who was still trying to catch her breath.

“A little help here, B,” Faith moaned. Buffy smiled down at Faith, holding her hand out for Faith to pull her up. As soon as she felt herself falling to the ground, she realized she shouldn’t have trusted Faith. The brunette grinned, pinning the blonde to the grass below her. “And that just shows you to never trust your enemies,” Faith said to the group of girls circled around them.

Knowing Faith was too busy gloating, Buffy used it to her advantage, flipping them over so she was on top once again. “And you, dear Faith, need to remember I ALWAYS win.”

“Yeah, yeah. Will you let me up now?” Buffy moved off of Faith and stood up, not bothering to help the girl this time. Faith pushed herself up, brushing her pants off. “Alright, why don’t you all break off into pairs and start sparring, B and I will keep an eye on ya’ll and help where we can.”

Buffy smiled at Faith taking on the role of teacher and mentor. She’d slipped easily into the role and some days the older Slayer had a hard time seeing her as the same girl. It was like all these visions of Faith were at war within her head. She liked every side of the girl, with the exception of the psycho killer. But Buffy no longer really believed she was that either. She was a mixed up kid back then. She’d grown up, and Nevaeh had a lot to do with that.

As the two headed towards the porch to sit on the stairs and observe, a little fireball came barreling at them. “Mama, Mommy, hurt?”

“No, baby, we were just pretending,” Faith reassured as she picked Nevaeh up and sat down on the top step, with the little girl on her lap.

“It’s ok, sweetie, Mama and Mommy were just showing the girls how to fight so when the bad guy comes we’ll be ready,” Buffy tried to help explain.

“I kick him,” the munchkin announced stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest in a look of defiance.

“I’m sure you would, but you’re gonna have to leave this one to the grownups, ok?” Faith said as seriously as she could, looking into the girl’s eye so Vaeh knew she was serious.

Nevaeh let her pouty lip come out. Upset that her mothers wouldn’t let her help. She could kick him hard. Just like she does with the bully at playgroup who tried to pick on Kyer. But the look on her Mama’s face told her she wasn’t going to let her. Instead the tears started to fall.

“I’m sorry, baby, but you’re just too little, maybe when you’re older…” Faith started, but saw the look on Buffy’s face as if to say “don’t you dare,” and stopped herself.  “You can help us now though alright? Wanna do that? Help Mama and Mommy get the girls ready?”

Nevaeh smiled, sniveling back the tears. Faith wasn’t sure what Nevaeh could do, but she didn’t want the little girl to feel excluded. And she really didn’t want her to feel like the potentials were more important than her. She was the two Slayers’ whole world.

Buffy leaned over to the twosome and placed a hand on Nevaeh’s back, her own train of thought in the same place as Faith’s. This little girl was so important to them both. She was also starting to believe that this little one would also someday be extremely important to the world. She just wasn’t sure why.

“What are we gonna do with her when the battle comes, B?” Faith whispered over the curly haired toddler.

“I don’t know, I guess we’ll have to come up with some sort of plan to protect her. Maybe get her out of town when we think it’s starting to get close.”

“But we’re both needed here,” Faith thought out loud, realizing that meant they’d have to send her with someone else. They would both be without the light in their life for who knew how long. She just wanted this battle to be over so they could move on with their life and their family.

“I know,” Buffy responded, the tone in her voice matching Faith’s own emotional state.

\--

“Alright squirt, soon as Mommy says go, we’re gonna race to her. First one to touch her wins,” Faith explained, as she stood on the duct tape line they had made on the floor of the mansion. Today was the first time the three of them had been able to sneak away and test Nevaeh’s powers. They were trying to find ways to make it a game though so that Nevaeh would want to do it while not really knowing what she was being asked to do.

On the other side of the room Buffy stood with a stop watch. They’d already both ran the distance and timed themselves to have some comparison, when they timed Nevaeh. “Ok girls, on your mark, get set, GO!” Buffy shouted and Nevaeh took off at breakneck speed heading straight for her. As soon as she felt the little hand on her leg she hit the stop button.

“I winned, Mommy,” Vaeh yelled proudly. At first Faith wasn’t going too really to try, since her timing is what they really wanted, but then when Nevaeh took off like a shot, she wanted to know. Sad thing was the little runt really did beat her.

“Best two out of three?” Faith asked, only to get a confused look from Nevaeh. “Dang, B. The kid is fast.” Buffy turned the stop watch so that Faith too could see the time. Nevaeh had indeed run faster than Faith’s average, and Buffy had only beaten her by a few tenths of a second.

They moved on to testing how much the little girl could lift. Making each object a game. While she didn’t have superhuman strength like her mothers’ did, she easily lifted things she probably shouldn’t have been able to lift at not even two years old yet.

The last test they wanted to try was her senses. This was the hardest one to try and find a game they could play. In the end, they just decided to make it up as they went along.

They tried having her close her eyes and turn in the direction of Faith or Buffy when she thought she knew where they were. They tried asking her questions from other rooms in the mansion, to see how far her hearing stretched. Even tried to test her sense of smell and her eye sight in different ways.

While all her senses were definitely above average, they didn’t seem to be up to Slayer capacity yet. The only full power she seemed to possess right now was her speed. The Chosen Two though both took notice of the fact that she seemed to have good instincts however and some of that apparently tied into her running, which is why she had yet to have any major accidents.

“Kid is definitely going to be a Slayer,” Faith announced, plopping herself down tiredly into the passenger seat of Buffy’s jeep. “It doesn’t make sense. Slayers are called, not born as you said, but there’s no other explanation.”

“I know,” Buffy agreed. “I can’t figure it out either.”

“So should we tell the gang?”

“I don’t think I’m ready for that yet,” Buffy admitted. She wanted to keep this between the two of them for a little bit longer. She wanted to protect her little girl from the world and never let her out of her sight. It was going to take a lot of getting used to before she was willing to get anyone else involved in this.

“Ya know, I don’t think I am either.” Faith was feeling the same way. There was something special about their little girl and she wanted to figure out what it was before letting anyone else know what was going on.

“I’m just so scared for her, Faith, she’s just so little,” Buffy cried, looking at the toddler who looked so innocent, already sound asleep in her car seat.

Faith reach a hand out, placing it comfortably on Buffy’s arm. “I know B, but we’ll protect her, together.” The two just sat like that for a long time afterwards. Neither one wanting to make a move and head home, ending the quiet moment as a family between them.


	19. Chapter 18- Fears released (December 02)

**Chapter 18**

Thanksgiving had come and gone, and the beginning of December hadn’t brought them any closer to figuring out what they were going to do about the First. However it was making its presence known in several forms, including the weather. The nights were still fairly warm, even for southern California.

Buffy and Faith had patrolled every night by themselves and more recently with some of the more trained potentials. Every now and then they’d run into a pack of vampires or a few demons, but for the most part it was still as quiet as it had been for months. The only real nightly activity came in the form of a few newbie vamps.

The Hellmouth seemed to be alive and active during the day however. Buffy was constantly having to deal with some situation going on at the high school that could be traced back to the Hellmouth. It was like her high school years all over again, but all three years smashed into this one year.

They had, however, gained a few new allies. The first being in the form of ex-nemesis slash partial hostage, Andrew. Buffy knew he was harmless for the most part, but he’d proved himself useful a few times, so she kept him in fear so that he would cooperate.

The other was a surprise to them all. Robin Wood, who was currently the high school principal and also the son of a Slayer. That answered Buffy’s question of whether Faith was the only Slayer to ever get pregnant. The Chosen Two had come across him fighting off some Vampires while out on patrol, and after they were dusted they made the mysterious man explain himself. Buffy was still a little iffy on him, but she wasn’t sure why. There was just something that seemed off about him.

The blonde made her way up the stairs quietly, not wanting to disturb her daughter if she was already settled in for the night. It was Faith’s night to tuck their little girl in before heading out on patrol. Even though it had become routine to take turns since shortly after they brought Faith home, Buffy missed doing it herself every night. As she’d thought to herself for the thousandth time, she never imagined having kids, but now that she had Nevaeh, she couldn’t imagine not having her in her life. She couldn’t love her more if she’d given birth to her.

She peeked in the door to see Faith lying on their bed with Vaeh tucked into her side, rubbing her back soothingly. Buffy just watched from the doorway not wanting to disturb the tender moment, knowing Nevaeh was all but asleep anyway. Faith must have realized the same thing as she slowly tried to untangle herself from Vaeh without waking her up.

Just when Faith thought she was in the clear, they both heard the toddler start screaming. “Mama, no leave,” the little girl cried. They’d had several nights like this, especially more recently. Nevaeh seemed to be clinging to Faith. They weren’t sure if the babe was worried about Faith going back to prison, or if it was something else, something she may sense. “Mama, stay.”

“Shh, baby, go back to sleep. Mama’s not going anywhere without you ever again,” Faith promised, tearing at Buffy’s heart for several reasons. And the next thing Faith whispered brought out tears. “No matter what happens, Mama will always be with you,” Faith finished, kissing Nevaeh on the forehead. “I love you so much, baby girl.” Faith ran her hands through Nevaeh’s curls until she was sure she was asleep for real this time. Buffy was long gone by the time she walked out the door, never knowing the blonde had witnessed the whole scene.

\--

The two Slayers patrolled that night, mostly in silence, both lost in their own thoughts, grateful they were without the potentials. Neither one felt like they could deal with the endless chatter of teenage girls. No matter how many times they tried to remind the girls that they needed to be stealthy, the teens couldn’t seem to keep quiet.

The two had swept all the cemeteries, and were now making their way through the city towards home. It had been a fairly busy night compared to nights past. Staking a total of four vampires each.

“Hey, B, you alright tonight?” Faith asked, tired of the silence.

“Yeah, fine,” Buffy responded with no emotion.

“You’ve been awfully quiet tonight.”

“So have you,” the blonde pointed out.

Faith shrugged. “Guess we both have things on our minds. Just weird, ya know.”

Buffy sighed. “Yeah, I just don’t feel like talking. Ok?”

“Fine.” Faith tucked her hands in her pockets, with her shoulders held high in a sign of defeat. If Buffy didn’t want to talk, who was she to make her. Something was bugging the older girl though, and it had been for awhile Faith was sure. She’d noticed Buffy being, well not hostile, but she sure wasn’t the same girl she’d gotten to know since Nevaeh was born. Something had changed and she didn’t know what it was.

A noise pulled both their attentions to the alley to their right. They gave each other a quick, knowing look, before pulling their stakes out and quietly heading down the darkened walkway. They could vaguely make out two figures at the end, but only the low growl alerted them to the fact that it was indeed a vampire, otherwise from what they could see, it could easily be a couple having a private moment.

“Hey vamp, why don’t you pick on someone your own size,” Faith taunted.

“Fuck,” the vampire muttered, the voice easily recognizable to both girls.

“I was so waiting for you to make one wrong move,” Faith said joyfully. “This ends tonight, Spike.”

“Bring it on, bitch,” Spike encouraged just before taking a punch to the face. Buffy stood there frozen as the two of them traded blows back and forth. She watched the two of them, but she didn’t really see either one of them. She was lost in her own little world of uncertainty.

Faith wanted to call to Buffy to come help her, thinking maybe it would be best for the blonde to take care of this guy herself. She saw the look in Buffy’s eyes though and knew that wasn’t going to happen. Even after everything he’s done, it was like he had some hold or attachment to the other girl. She needed to get rid of him once and for all and free Buffy.

From her current place on the ground, Faith kicked her left foot out, swiping Spike’s feet from under him. Climbing on top of him, she pinned him down. Just before she could stake him though a strangled, “No,” pulled her attention to Buffy who was still lost in her own world.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Spike threw Faith off him, sending her flying into the wall. Trying to stand back up, she wobbled, woozy. Putting her hand to the back of her head where she hit the wall, she could feel blood soak her hand from the cut there.

“Smells delicious,” Spike gleamed. “You know potential blood just isn’t as good as the real thing. Can’t wait to get a taste of you,” he licked his lips.

Faith knew then what he was referring too. A few weeks ago, they had discovered a potential in the woods, she was dead, her blood drained. Nobody had suspected Spike, believing he still had a chip. She knew he was gone all summer and he could have had it removed in that time, but she figured it had probably stopped working before that. That was the only explanation she could come up with for how he could hurt Buffy that day.

Either way the demon was back, and she couldn’t wait to rid the world of him once and for all. That was as soon as she could stand up straight. She wobbled again, grabbing the wall for support. “Was the world spinning?” she thought, just before she felt herself falling back to the ground.

Spike walked over and picked her up, carrying her into the abandoned building next to them, knowing Buffy would probably follow, but wouldn’t likely do anything. He was thinking it was about time that bitch learned a lesson as he looked for something to tie the Slayers up with.

He ordered Buffy to sit in a chair he found and the blonde complied easily. Checking to see that Faith was still out of it, he went to tie Buffy up with some rope he found on one of the machines. It was fairly thick and he hoped it was strong enough to hold the Slayer. He was gonna save Buffy for last.

Faith slowly began to come to, but she tried not to make it obvious as she caught sight of Spike out of the corner of her eye tying Buffy up. She wanted to smile at how stupid he was, that rope would never hold them. She didn’t though, knowing Buffy was in no state of mind to break out. She knew Buffy feared Spike, she could hear it in her voice when they talked about that day. She had no idea that fear would send her into such a trance though.

Spike finished what he was doing, and Faith quickly closed her eyes as he headed back her way. As soon as he was within reach, she threw a punch upwards, hitting him in the jaw, sending him reeling back.

She stood carefully, only to find she was still a little bit fuzzy. Spike came after her again before she could get her footing and pinned her against the wall. “That hurt, bitch,” he spat.

“Good, bitch.”

Pissing him off probably wasn’t her smartest plan as she felt his hand wrap around her neck, squeezing tightly. This was not good. “Buffy, snap out of it!” she tried to yell.

Buffy seemed to hear her as she looked their way. “No!” she screamed again. Fighting against the ropes around her hands. She was back in that moment, in that bathroom where she felt so helpless. As she struggled though she could feel the ropes loosening, but she feared it wouldn’t be quick enough to get to Faith.

Spike turned to Buffy when he heard the chair scratch across the floor, but didn’t loosen his hold on Faith. It was enough of a distraction though that Faith was able to raise her knee, hitting him in the groin.

He released his hold, stumbling backwards. Faith quickly sent another kick into his stomach and followed him as he flew back. One more kick and he was up against the wall on the other side of the room. Grabbing his neck, she pinned him against the wall, raising the stake in her other hand, she slammed it into his chest, falling to the ground as the dust fell.

Buffy rushed over to Faith as soon as she freed herself.

“Some help you were, B,” she growled. She knew she shouldn’t be angry, but she was. Buffy always seemed so strong, and here the other girl was, acting weak as a kitten. “Should have staked his ass a long time ago,” she finished, standing up.

“He was harmless,” Buffy muttered quietly.

“Open your eyes, B! He may have been held in check for awhile, but he was never harmless. Shoulda used that to your advantage and staked him then.”

“What do you know about it?” Buffy threw back, angry at the brunette now too.

“What if he would have finished what he started and raped you? Or what if he would have hurt Nevaeh? Huh? What then?” Faith kept at it, wanting Buffy to get it.

At the end of her rope, Buffy took a swing at Faith, hitting her square on the cheek. As soon as she did it, she knew she was wrong. “Faith… I…” She didn’t bother even trying to finish her thoughts and instead took off out the door.

“Damn that stings like a mother,” Faith muttered to herself, rubbing her cheek. She was pissed as hell at Buffy, but at the same time, she wasn’t. Maybe she had gotten through and they’d get the old Buffy back now.

Knowing Buffy probably needed to work things out on her own she headed for home.

\--

Buffy wandered the street for hours, lost in thought. She couldn’t believe she’d hit Faith like that. What was wrong with her? They were past that weren’t they?

Finally after endless thoughts filled her mind, she finally realized what was wrong with her. Why she got so angry and so scared tonight. Only part of it had to do with Spike. She knew what she needed to do.

The house was quiet when she entered it. Everyone having gone to sleep hours earlier. Checking their room, she realized Faith wasn’t in it. The rest of the house turned up the same results, and if it wasn’t for Nevaeh still fast asleep in their bed, she would have been worried about where Faith had gone. But she knew Faith wouldn’t just take off, without Nevaeh.

Only place left was the backyard, which was where she found Faith, sitting on the bench with a beer in hand. “Do you think you should be drinking that?” Buffy asked in lieu of a greeting.

“Seems like the least of my crimes, don’t it?” Faith answered without emotion.

Buffy just sighed, sitting down next to Faith. “Can we talk?”

“Sure.”

Buffy took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. “I’m sorry about hitting you. We were both pissed off, I know that, but I thought we’d worked past the whole trying to beat the shit out of each other deal.” She knew they needed to talk about their past, but she needed to address more recent concerns first.

“Maybe we haven’t,” Faith shrugged, unsure where Buffy was going with this.

“We have a lot of things we still haven’t dealt with. But none of those had anything to do with tonight. I was scared, and not just of Spike. Tonight I watched you with Nevaeh, as I have been since we brought you home. For now we’re all stuck here together. I can’t help but worry about what’s going to happen when this is all over though.”

She paused to take a breath. The next part was going to be the hardest part. “I’m scared that when this is all over, you’re going to take her away from me and I’ll never see her again. I love her so much. I can’t lose her.” Buffy didn’t even bother to hide the tears that fell from her eyes.

Faith sighed deeply. She couldn’t deny when she was in prison she’d had thoughts of taking Nevaeh and just disappearing the two of them so they could be together. But since being out and being a daily part of her life, that thought had never even entered her mind. It felt natural, this little weird family unit they had going on.

“B, look at me,” she said softly. When Buffy still wouldn’t, she took the other girl’s chin in her hand, turning her face to look at her. “Buffy, I would never do that. First off, because to Nevaeh you are her mother and I would never do that to her. It wouldn’t be right. I knew when I gave her to you, no matter what, you’d always be in her life. It was a choice I made way back when. Also because I couldn’t do that to you. I know you love her, and I couldn’t be happier about that.”

The two stared deeply at each other, an understanding passing between them. “We’ve got shit to deal with, like you said, our past to deal with. And once this battle is all over, we’ll work on that. But for now we’ll just be this weird little family we’ve been.” She touched Buffy’s arm softly, trying to physically reassure her, as well as verbally.

“Sides, not like I could fight for custody anyway, fugitive remember?” Faith muttered as an afterthought. “Not that I would, because of all the things I already said, but ya know,” she left the sentence hanging open.

They stayed out there for awhile longer, just enjoying the silence between them. Finally they both headed up to bed, falling sleep with their hands touching on top of Nevaeh.

The next morning, Buffy woke up early and went downstairs to find Willow in the kitchen sipping on a cup of coffee. Suddenly she had a great idea. “Hey, Will, I need your help on something.”

“Sure, Buff, what is it?” the wicca asked.

“I think I know what I want to do for Faith’s birthday,” the blonde smiled the brightest smile she had in a long time.

 


	20. Chapter 19- Surprise (Decemeber 2002)

**Chapter 19**

A week later Buffy had convinced Faith that the two of them needed to go out patrolling alone. She argued that maybe the potentials needed a break, they didn’t have superpowers, they needed to be trained for the battle ahead but that didn’t mean they needed to patrol every night. You didn’t have to convince Faith twice. She needed a break from the newbies every now and again.

They had only been out for a couple of hours and already passed through most of the cemeteries and it had been even more quiet than usual. They hadn’t come across a single vampire or demon all night. These no action nights were really starting to get to Faith. After being penned up for so long, it was hard not being able to stretch her abilities now that she could. “Think we should pack it in, B. It’s dead out here tonight.” The pun wasn’t lost on either of them.

Luck was not on her side tonight, Buffy decided when she looked at her watch and noticed they needed to stay out for at least a little bit longer. “Let’s go back and do another sweep of Restfield. Just to be on the safe side.”

“Alright, you’re the boss,” Faith agreed, following behind Buffy. Didn’t seem like they were going to find anything tonight, but the brunette was always up for a bit of action. If they didn’t kill anything tonight, she was going to have a date with the punching bag when they got home. Poor thing had already taken too many beatings from her.

Pushing that thought aside, Faith began to think about how weird Buffy seemed to be acting tonight. She was fidgety and kept checking the time, she observed, watching the blonde unconsciously. Maybe Buffy was still worried about what they talked about the week before. Faith had thought she did a good job of reassuring her, but maybe she hadn’t.

She meant every word she had told the older Slayer. There may have been a time when she wanted to hurt the other girl, but those days were long past. Just knowing how much Buffy did love her daughter was enough to set all that aside. So she meant it when she said she couldn’t take Nevaeh away from Buffy. She couldn’t do that to Nevaeh either, Buffy was her mother and she accepted that.

She’d toyed with the idea of turning herself back in when this was all over anyway. She just didn’t know if she had it in her to be separated from her daughter a second time. She never knew she could love somebody so much. Love just seemed like something she wasn’t capable of doing. Her daughter had changed all that and proven her wrong, and she could no longer imagine being away from her again.

So if she didn’t go back to prison, she had a lot of decisions to make. One thing seemed certain though. Because of their daughter, her and Buffy were pretty much stuck together for the indefinite future. Well, at least until Nevaeh went off to college. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

When another walk through Restfield turned up nothing, Buffy just had to admit defeat. “Guess we should head back. Don’t look like we’re going to find anything tonight.” She just hoped they’d been out long enough.

The walk back to the house was as uneventful as the rest of the evening had been. Faith headed straight for the front door as soon as they reached the house. It wasn’t until she was climbing the steps that she realized Buffy was still back by the driveway. “You comin’, B?”

“Yeah, I’m right behind you. I was just enjoying this peaceful night.” Lame, Buffy thought to herself. “You go ahead, don’t let me slow you down.”

“Alright,” Faith shrugged before turning and heading into the house.

Inside it seemed awfully quiet. Looking into the dining and living rooms, she realized they were both empty. That was unusual considering how many people currently occupied this house. “Wonder where everyone is,” she muttered to herself, thinking maybe Andrew was doing another one of his classes in the basement. Walking past the stairs she headed for the kitchen so she could check the basement.

“SURPRISE,” a chorus of voices screamed out as soon as she stepped through the doorway. Everyone was smashed like sardines between the island and the kitchen counters waiting for her. Everyone except Buffy who had just stepped in through the back door at the same time Faith had entered the room.

And of course Nevaeh was standing on the island, in a blue dress and a tiara on her head, looking every bit like the princess she was. “Mama, party,” the little girl squealed excitedly.

“We thought we’d have a double party, for you and Nevaeh,” Buffy explained, walking over to straighten Vaeh’s dress where it had bunched up in the back.

It took Faith a full minute to process what was going on. They were throwing her a birthday party. She hadn’t even remembered that today was her birthday. In the back of her mind, she had remembered Nevaeh’s was coming up and had already gotten her daughter a small gift that was wrapped and hiding upstairs.

“Wow. I don’t…,” Faith paused, unsure of what to say. They had done all this for her, and in the midst of an apocalypse. “Thanks,” was all she could get out.

“Cwown, Mama.” Nevaeh ordered, pointing at the matching tiara that was on the counter in front of her.

Faith gave them all an, “are you serious look?”

“You have to wear it. Nevaeh picked it out just for you so you could be twins,” Buffy said quietly from where she now stood beside Faith. The blonde picked up the tiara and placed it on the brunette’s head. She played with it for a minute, trying to get it on just right. Pulling her hands away slowly, the two stared at each other, unspoken words passing between them.

“Mama pitty,” Nevaeh complemented, unaware of what was going on between her mothers.

Faith snapped her head over to look at her daughter. Leaning over the counter, she placed a kiss on the tot’s cheek. “Thank you, princess. You are too.”

“Hey, I thought you called me princess?” Buffy huffed teasingly.

Faith picked Nevaeh up and held her to her side. “Not anymore, there’s a new princess in town. Guess that would make you the…” Buffy gave her a stern face, telling her with looks she better be nice. “…the Queen,” Faith finished.

“The Queen. Guess I can live with that,” Buffy responded as if it was such a terrible thing. “Now that the surprise is over with, maybe we ought to move everyone into the living room where it’s more comfortable,” Buffy suggested, but didn’t let anyone respond as she lead the way. From behind the sofa, she grabbed all the presents that were hidden there and placed them on the coffee table in two piles.

“Um hold on a sec,” Faith quickly said as she headed for the stairs. She took them two at a time and headed for their bedroom, looking through the closet, finding the present she had stashed there. Smiling she ran back down the stairs, adding the present to one of the piles.

As soon as Nevaeh and Faith were seated in the guest of honor seats, a round of “happy birthday was sung as two cakes were rolled out, complete with lighted candles. Vaeh and Faith worked together to blow them all out. Buffy stood a distance away, snapping pictures at the cuteness that was mother and daughter. She couldn’t seem to get over how much alike they were. A smile filled her whole face as she thought about how amazing they both were.

She just thought of Faith as amazing? Well she couldn’t deny that was true. She couldn’t even remember the scared little girl Faith had once been, the one with the tough exterior. All she saw now was the Faith trying to do what’s right, and loving her daughter with her whole heart. Nevaeh was special for so very many reasons. She saved Faith just by existing.

Buffy knew then, that the choice she had made a week ago was the right one. Faith deserved what was coming to her.

After everyone finished their cake and ice cream, they started handing Nevaeh her presents one by one. The little girl tore through them, now old enough to realize the treasure underneath the paper. She got more toys and clothes than a toddler should be allowed to have.

They saved Faith’s present for last. Nevaeh tore off the paper, only to give her Mama a confused look at the plain white box underneath. This wasn’t a toy, or pretty clothes. Her Mama lifted the lid off the box to reveal a small silver necklace with a small heart-shaped medallion. On the front it said, “Nevaeh,” and on the back she had engraved it to say, “Love, Mama.”

“I know you’re too little to appreciate this,” Faith started to explain, as she took the necklace out of the box and started putting it on the little girl. “But I wanted you to have something, so that no matter what happens to me, you’ll have me close to your heart, and always know how much I love you.” Faith held back the tears she wanted to let loose, knowing she was already exposing far too much of herself to this group.

After the clasp was closed around Nevaeh’s neck she reached under her own shirt to pull out the necklace she had kept hidden there every since she purchased the set weeks ago. “See Mama has one too.”

“We pitty,” Nevaeh stated.

Faith smiled, kissing Nevaeh softly on the forehead. “Yes we are baby.”

She knew her daughter was spoiled rotten by just about everyone in this room, but when they started to hand her, her presents, she was absolutely floored. She expected a lot of things for Nevaeh, who didn’t love shopping for kids. She wasn’t expecting all as much for herself. Each of the original scoobies had given her something, usually a weapon, or some article of clothing she was sure to wear.

Giles and Willow had a little surprise on their hands though, not just for Faith but for Buffy too. When the Watcher’s Council had been blown up and most of its members dead, the two had started doing some digging to see who was left, and what else they might have left behind. They had found a few other Watchers and a few more Potentials, who were now making their way here.

That however was not the present. They had discovered records and journals from present back through several generations. The interesting thing about the record it seemed though, was that it showed that each of the Slayers before Buffy had, had a type of allowance to pay some of their expenses. When Buffy had been called, they had looked at her home life and decided she wasn’t in need of such a thing and didn’t offer it to her. Then when Faith was called, they had decided she made good on her own, and once again didn’t offer it to her.

After that they had done a little bit more of an intense search and managed to find two small bank accounts, each opened around the time the Chosen Two had been called. With a little work, Willow had been able to gain access. What was in them wasn’t much, but it was enough to help get them by for a little while.

“The money rightfully belongs to you guys. There isn’t much in either of them, but it’ll help you get by for awhile, especially with all these extra mouths you’ve acquired,” Willow told them each when they looked as if they wanted to refuse anything from the Council. “I’m still digging around, but I’m sure with time, I will find similar, as well as larger accounts in the Council’s possession.”

“Thanks, guys,” Faith said gratefully, looking at the information packet Giles handed her. They were right, what was in there probably didn’t even make a dent in the Council’s fund, but it was still more money than Faith had ever had. Now she could help take care of her daughter more fully.

When the conversation of banks and money ended, Buffy reached for the present still on the coffee table, handing it to Faith. “This one is from Nevaeh and me.”

Faith carefully peeled back the paper to see a framed photograph inside. It was of Faith and Nevaeh at the playgroup. Faith was at the bottom of the slide with her arms out waiting to catch Nevaeh, who sat at the top with a huge smile on her face. Under the photo was a text that simply said, “Mommy and Daughter.”

“You guys just want to see me cry today don’t you?” Faith asked jokingly.

“You’re the one that got all teary-eyed when you gave Nevaeh her gift. Nobody did that but you.” Buffy fired back, placing a hand softly on Faith’s leg to let her know she was just teasing as well.

“Touché.” Faith went back to studying the photo. She didn’t even know Buffy had taken this picture. She knew the blonde pretty much took her camera anywhere she went with Nevaeh. If watching her do it wasn’t enough, the boxes and computer files full of pictures of the kids sure were. There was no doubt in Faith’s mind that Buffy was trying to capture every moment she could of Nevaeh’s life on film.

What would it have been like to have a mother like that, she wondered.

“It’s not over yet. You still might cry,” Buffy warned, but there was a smile in her eyes. “I have one more present for you.”

“Awe, B, you don’t have to get me anything.” They had already given her far too much. She didn’t feel worth all the attention she had received today.

“Ok I didn’t,” Buffy answered honestly.

Faith looked at her confused, and moved closer to Buffy as if the simple action would clear up the questions in her mind. “You didn’t?”

“Nope, I didn’t,” the blonde confirmed. “What I have for you can’t be bought, or sold, or held in your hand.”

Faith’s brain began to work overtime just trying to figure out what Buffy was talking about. “I give up, what is it?”

“You’re freedom.”

“My what?” Faith asked, unsure of just what she was hearing.

“You’re free, Faith. I had Willow do some hacking, and I believe a bit of magic. You’re record is now clean. You’re not a fugitive anymore.”

That was too much for Faith to process. Standing up, she walked out, trying to clear her mind of all its thoughts. Finding herself in the backyard, she slumped down to the top step and took a deep breath. She was free, she didn’t have to make the choice to go back to prison or not. It was decided for her.

It was more than fifteen minutes later before she heard the back door open and small feet behind her. She knew who it was just by the tingles that went down her spine. “I’m sorry if I upset you,” Buffy apologized. “I probably should have asked you first. But when you said what you did about you not being about to even fight for Nevaeh because you were a fugitive. Well I just couldn’t get that out of my mind. I’ve seen the way you’ve changed, and you don’t belong in there anymore. You can do more good out here.”

“It’s ok, really. It just shocked me is all. It’s one thing to be out here because I’m helping you fight the good fight and all that. It’s a different matter to really be free.” Then in a surprising move by Faith, she turned and gave the blonde Slayer a hug. “Thank you, Buffy, I really mean it.” And they both knew she did, for the simple reason she used Buffy’s full name.

Each day they grew closer together, and neither girl was sure where it was headed, but they were enjoying the ride.


	21. Chapter 20- Christmas Part 2 (December 2002)

**Chapter 20**

Faith was getting antsy. This was the worst kind of torture, no demon had ever made her suffer this much. The truly pathetic thing was, she was putting herself through this much pain. And for what? She couldn’t figure out what the hell to get Buffy for Christmas and she was running out of stores.

She couldn’t, not get her anything. Not after all the blonde had done for her these last couple of years. Whether she deserved it or not. But what said “Thanks for taking care of my kid and freeing me from prison?”

She wasn’t worried much about the rest of the Scoobies, although she had found them all each something small, something she knew they would appreciate. She’d probably spoiled Nevaeh a little too much, but the way she had it figured, she had some catching up to do.

Who was she kidding though? She loved that little runt more than anything in her life and she’d give her the world on a silver platter if she could. It was going to be a battle every year not to go completely overboard.

After more than three hours of wandering the mall, which was a lifetime to Faith who hated shopping, she finally spotted the same store she had gotten Nevaeh’s birthday present a few weeks before. It gave her the perfect idea for a gift, something that Buffy would treasure and help put her mind at ease. She just hoped she’d be able to get it done in enough time.

\--

Across town Buffy was sitting at her desk at Sunnydale High in much the same dilemma. She was writing out her Christmas gift list, filling in all her present ideas or what she’d already bought. She had just about finished, but glancing at the paper only one thing bothered her. The space after Faith’s name was completely blank. She just could not come up with anything to give the girl.

How would she ever be able to do better than her, “No more prison,” gift?

She had already determined that she couldn’t just get her any little old thing. The younger girl didn’t have much in the way of possessions and she’d never really been celebrated. She deserved to get a little bit of special attention. At least for the time being. The more she learned about the other girl, the more she wanted to make up for all the wrong done in her life.

Something about Faith these days made Buffy want to protect her and take care of her. With Nevaeh between them, they had become their own little weird family. And Buffy took care of her family. They’d be spending the foreseeable future together. She didn’t know what that made them exactly, but it meant treating each other right.

Some days she thought they needed to sit down and really talk about their past, but other times it just didn’t seem to matter anymore. They weren’t those people any more. They were older and wiser, and more able to handle what life threw at them. Maybe the past should just stay in the past. They were young then and didn’t know how to handle things better. It wasn’t an excuse, it was just a fact.

“Miss Summers?” a quiet voice asked, pulling her from her thoughts and back to the job at hand.

“Yes, Amanda, isn’t it?” Buffy asked hesitantly, seeing the girl nod her head affirmatively. She knew this was one of the potentials, but there was so many now it was hard to keep track of them all. Plus with her being from Sunnydale, she had chosen to still live at home for the time being. At least as much as possible between school and training sessions, she was with them more than at home.

“I was just wondering if I could talk to you about something,” the teenager spoke quietly.

“Sure,” Buffy responded, motioning for her to speak away.

“It’s just, I train with the others and go out at night, but I’m feeling like I’m not really a part of the club you know.” Buffy nodded her head in understanding, knowing what it felt like to not really feel like she belonged somewhere. “I was just thinking maybe I should move to your house, but I’m not sure how to tell my parents. Don’t think they’d exactly understand, you know?”

“If you want, we could come with you when you talk to them. I’m sure Faith, Willow or even Giles would be more than willing, and me obviously.”

Amanda sighed in relief. “That’s what I was hoping for. I wanted to do it before Winter break.”

“Sure, we can probably do it tonight if you want.”

“Really?” the younger girl asked disbelieving. Buffy just nodded her head with a smile. “Thanks.”

“Just let me know what you want to do, and we’ll make it work.” Amanda left Buffy’s office promising to tell her by the end of school what she wanted to do.

It crossed Buffy’s mind that this was one more girl to add to the horde already residing in the Summers residence, but at this point it was like a drop in the bucket. She was certainly glad for the money Willow had found from the council, it was certainly helping to feed them all. Willow had also since found a couple more accounts for some of the potentials that were with them that no longer had families and they had been helping to provide for.

A few of the girls whose families had known what they were for years and knew why they were now in Sunnydale, also tried to send money to help provide for their daughters, but with so many girls, it only went so far. Overall though she had to admit, she was doing a lot better than she was only a year ago. Principal Wood was definitely over paying her for this job, but she didn’t feel guilty taking the schools money, for several reasons.

That night Faith and Buffy went over to Amanda’s house before going out on patrol. To say her parents were skeptical would be an understatement. They outright didn’t want to believe anything that was coming out of the Slayers’ mouths. They finally had to go out and find a vampire and bring one back and dust it in front of them to make them believe it. After that they all but kicked their daughter out. Who knew parents could go to such extremes.

They took all the girls out on a short walk through the cemetery, careful to not be caught off guard by the ubervamp that was now running the streets. They were confident now that the two Slayers could take care of the beast, but they didn’t want to put the girls in more danger than they needed to be in.

The newbies were given a few small opportunities to stretch their muscles, but as has become the norm, there just wasn’t a lot of action. Faith was starting to hate these group patrols, because what little action they did have, the Chosen Two stepped back and let the teens handle it.

Good thing for prison too. While the double H’s were definitely still there, they weren’t as strong as when she’d been a teenager. And it was really hard to take care of business in a house full of curious teenagers and very few bathrooms.

Her motto of “get some and get gone,” just didn’t work anymore now that she had a kid. She’d rather be at home with her, than out on the hunt. “When’d I get so damn old?” Faith thought to herself. Life sure had a funny way of changing on you.

\--

Slivers of sunlight filtered into the room as Nevaeh’s eyes slowly cracked open. Today was the day! She just knew it had to be. Every morning her moms would tell her, “no just a little bit longer.” But she was fairly sure today it was finally the day.

Looking to her left and then to her right, both her parents were sound asleep. “How could they be asleep on a day like today?”

With a smile on her face, she carefully stood up in between them on the bed and turned around so she was facing them both. Gently at first, she began to bounce on the bed, getting braver with each bounce.

“Mommy, Mama!” she yelled. “Waked up!” The bouncing continued as Nevaeh got more into it, failing to notice the smiles that passed between Faith and Buffy. They were both in silent agreement to tease their daughter.

When they both still appeared to be asleep, Nevaeh decided to play it dirty. Knowing she could probably get away with it more easily, she turned towards Faith, and took one more bounce, flopping herself down on to her Mama’s stomach. “Pwesents!” the two year old yelled into Faith’s ear.

“Alright, munchkin, I hear ya,” Faith responded, rubbing her now ringing ear. Kid sure had a mouth on her. She’d been around Buffy too long, that was for sure. That squeal could only be described as a Summer’s squeal. Good thing Faith considered it cute, on either girl currently occupying the same bed.

“Potty!” the little girl yelled again, realizing how badly she had to go. Jumping off the bed, she quickly made a mad dash for the bathroom.

“I’m so glad she finally got the hang of going to the bathroom by herself,” Faith sighed with relief, looking at Buffy.

“Me too,” the blonde agreed, unconsciously scooting towards the other girl. “Not that I want her to grow up at all though.”

“I know, me either,” the dark one admitted. “She’s growing up too fast as it is.”

“You’re telling me. Seems like just yesterday she showed up on my doorstep,” Buffy smiled teasingly.

“Sorry about that,” Faith genuinely apologized. “I just didn’t know what to do, and I was hoping if you just saw her, ya know.”

Buffy sighed, laying a hand softly on the younger girl’s shoulder. “I’d like to think I would have been a big enough person to take her even if you’d asked me first, but I couldn’t honestly say. But as soon as I saw her I can admit I fell in love. And now I can’t imagine my life without her.”

Faith smiled again, covering Buffy’s hand with her own. “Thank you.” She knew she didn’t have to keep saying it, but she would never fully be able to tell Buffy how grateful she was.

“Pwesents now?” Vaeh asked, barreling back into the room.

“Yeah, go start waking all the girls up, squirt. Give your mom and me a chance to get up.”

“Ok,” the tot shouted before once again dashing out the door. Her voice carrying down the hall as she ran into each room.

Faith rolled out of bed, turning to help Buffy onto her feet. “Guess we ought to get down there before she starts getting into everything.”

When Buffy and Faith reached the living room, Nevaeh was indeed down under the tree, trying to pick out which presents were hers. The room was filled with potentials, but thankfully not as many, as many of them had gone home to spend the holidays with their families.

Nevaeh tore through her presents from the gang quickly, saving the ones from her mothers for last.  Buffy gave her a few new outfits and some clothes. She was growing out of her old stuff and was in great need for some new ones. She also got her a new bike that was made just for kids her age.

When she got to Faith’s gifts, the presents just never seemed to end. Toy after toy kept coming. She had to have had them all gift wrapped, because Buffy knew she’d never have the patience to wrap that many presents herself.

“Alright squirt, this is the last one, and it’ll go perfect with that bike your ma gave ya,” Faith’s accent growing thicker towards the end. Buffy loved to listen to the Boston girl talk, it amazed her how much her speech and accent could vary. Although she greatly preferred the accent.

Nevaeh ripped open the paper, bummed to find more clothes inside. Didn’t her moms get it? Clothes were boring. Mama was looking so excited though as she pulled out each piece. “See it’s a biker outfit. Complete with chaps and a leather jacket. Isn’t it the coolest?”

“Only you, Faith,” Buffy laughed, shaking her head. She had to admit, Nevaeh would look cute in that outfit. Actually she’d be a spitting image of Faith. “You better open yours,” Buffy suggested, pushing the present she’d bought towards Faith.

Studying the package carefully, Faith pulled the sides open. Something told her she should build up the tension just a little bit. Pulling back the paper, she found inside, a leather jacket, almost identical to the one she’d bought Nevaeh. “I figured yours was long gone, so you deserved a new one.”

“Thanks, B. This is awesome,” Faith said excitedly, slipping it on. Seeing her Mama put her’s on, Nevaeh did the same.

“Oh you guys are so cute,” Willow squealed.

“Stand together so I can get a picture,” Buffy instructed.

Embarrassed but knowing there was no getting out of it even if she wanted too, Faith went down on one knee so she was closer to Nevaeh’s level and put her arm around the little girl. They smiled and posed as Buffy took picture after picture. Before they were done, Tara snuck out and grabbed Buffy’s jacket, making her put it on while Willow took a picture of the three of them.

“If you three aren’t just the cutest thing.” Willow couldn’t stop herself from snapping off more than enough pictures to fill the camera. They just looked like such a cute little family.

“Alright, enough of this. Got one more present to do.” Faith bent under the tree pulling out the small box she had hidden back there. “This one’s for B.”

Inside the box was a silver picture frame. It had been engraved to say, ‘Mother and Daughter,’ although a picture had not yet been placed inside of it. “I didn’t have any pictures of the two of you, since everything is still in the prison, but I thought you could choose your favorite one or whatever.”

“Thank you, Faith,” Buffy said, hugging the brunette briefly. She knew this was one more way of Faith assuring her of Nevaeh’s place in her life. “But I think we better take it back and see if they can change the engraving.”

“Why, what’s wrong with it?” Faith asked, trying to get a look, thinking maybe they misspelled something and she hadn’t noticed.

“Nothing, it’s prefect. But you missed an ‘S’,” the blonde answered cryptically.

“An ‘S’?”

“Yes, it should say ‘Mothers and Baby,’ and then we should put that picture of the three of us in it we took tonight.” Faith smiled at Buffy, pulling her in for a half hug. “Our first family picture, with the whole family.” Without thinking, Buffy leaned in placing a tender kiss on Faith’s cheek, pulling her into a full hug. “Thank you again, Faith, it’s perfect.”

Faith couldn’t help the giant smile that lit up her face. This family thing just kept getting better and better.


	22. Chapter 21- Halo (February 2003)

**Chapter 21**

Buffy went through her closet for the third time that night and still couldn’t find anything to wear. Why was it so hard to find something to wear? It was just a stupid Valentine’s party at the Bronze. It wasn’t like she was going on a date. Who did she want to impress? Certainly not any of the single guys that might happen to be there. She had her hands full with Nevaeh and the looming apocalypse.

Besides, Faith and all the potentials were going to be there too. It would be nice to just hang out with everybody outside of Slayer central for once. Too many girls all in one house was not an easy living situation. Everyone was starting to get really tense. Tonight would be a good release for everyone and allow them to just kick back for a night.

And if she just happened to get the chance to see Faith dancing… well that would just be a bonus. The girl had serious moves back in the day, and that wasn’t something you just forgot how to do. She missed seeing the brunette out there on the dance floor. There was just something about it, almost sensual.

Scratch that from your mind, Buffy! Do not think of Faith as sensual, sexy yes. Wait, what? Stop now!

Trying to clear her mind of her current train of thoughts, she looked again at her clothes. She wanted to at least look nice. It wasn’t every day they got to go out these days. Plus she really hadn’t got to spend a whole lot of time with Faith outside of patrolling and the few outings they’d had with Nevaeh. It would be nice to spend some quality time together. Get to know each other like they should have all those years ago.

“Hey, B, ya just about ready?” Faith called through the door.

“Um, yeah, I’ll be out in just a minute,” Buffy lied. Letting instinct take over she reached in and grabbed the first thing that she saw. Slipping it on, she ran her hands down herself to make sure she smoothed any bumps and then went looking for the shoes to match. Checking the mirror, she ran her hands through her hair, deciding it looked okay enough to just leave it down tonight. She couldn’t remember the last time she did that.

Rushing down the stairs she was surprised to find just Faith standing there waiting. “Everyone already headed out, didn’t want to wait.” Faith said in way of explanation. “They figured you’d be at least another half hour.”

Buffy wanted to be insulted by that, but she figured they had good reason to believe that. “Why didn’t you go with them?”

Faith just shrugged her shoulders. “Didn’t seem right to make you go alone.”

“Well, thanks,” Buffy smiled. “Did you already say goodnight to Vaeh?”

“Yep, good to go,” Faith answered.

“Alright, let me just go tell her bye and we’ll be off.” Faith just nodded, signaling she’d wait right there by the door.

Buffy walked into the living room where Nevaeh was settled on the couch in her pajamas, watching a Disney movie. Giles was sitting in the chair next to her, book in hand. She walked over and knelt down in front of her daughter. “Ok, baby, we’re gonna go now. You be good for Grandpa Giles. Ok?”

“Ok, Mommy,” Nevaeh yawned, showing she’d probably be asleep soon.

“I love you.”

“Wuv you too,” the little girl quietly said, wiggling her head on her pillow like she was trying to get comfortable, her eyes already starting to droop.

“Thanks for watching her, Giles.”

“No problem. You guys go have fun, she’ll be fine.”

Buffy just nodded and waved as she made her way backwards out of the room.

“We ready to motor?” Faith asked as soon as she was standing in front of her again.

“Let’s go.”

They headed out the door and started walking down the street towards the Bronze in silence. Faith kept looking Buffy over not sure whether she should say something or not. But the temptation was just too much. “You look good in my shirt.”

“Ha, what?” Buffy muttered trying to figure out what the other girl was saying. Looking down at herself, she smiled sheepishly. “Oh yeah, we did buy this for you didn’t we?” Faith just nodded her head, smiling. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention I guess.”

“I’s a’ight. You look good in it,” Faith repeated truthfully, noticing how well Buffy’s curves seemed to fill out the red top, and how the cap sleeves fell perfectly in place. They went well with the black skinny jeans she was wearing.

“Thanks,” Buffy smiled at the compliment. “You look good too,” the blonde admired back, letting herself take notice of Faith’s outfit for the first time. The girl always did look fine in a pair of leather pants.

With that last thought Buffy knew she was in trouble. A lot of things were suddenly starting to make sense. How, when they were teenagers, Faith could bring out the worst in her. Or how she could feel on top of the world in the other girl’s present. But most of all, how much at peace she now felt having the brunette around again. Like a part of her had come home.

Yep she was in deep trouble.

She always felt as if they were meant to be together, but as sisters in the cause, fighters of evil. Not in any sort of romantic way. Or maybe she just wasn’t willing to see what was staring her in the face.

But she wasn’t gay, was she? Not that there was anything wrong with it. Just being friends with Willow had taught her so much about love and acceptance. Okay so it would be new territory for her, but that wasn’t a big deal. If it was right, it was right. Right?

Gah… why was she even thinking about this? This was Faith, her one time nemesis. The mother of her daughter. Okay that sounded weird even to her.

It didn’t matter anyway. Faith clearly did not swing that way either. If her conquests said anything back in the day. Since being back here though, Buffy hadn’t seen her out with a guy once. Maybe all that time in prison with only women had changed Faith’s taste.

Okay, way too much time thinking about Faith in such a way. It wasn’t even going to happen anyway. They were stuck together because of Nevaeh, but that’s all it would ever be. Their daughter was the most important thing to both of them, she was what really mattered most.

“Hey, B, you alright over there?” Faith asked, realizing how quiet the blonde had become on the walk across town. She was used to Buffy chatter.

“Yeah, I was just thinking,” Buffy began, “wondering how Nevaeh would be with Giles tonight. This is the first time in months she’s been with anyone other than me or you.” That part was at least half true, Nevaeh had been in her thoughts.

Faith just nodded, easily accepting that explanation. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. Bronze isn’t a place for a kid, or else I would never have left her home.”

Buffy smiled, knowing that was the truth. Faith had a hard time letting Nevaeh out of her sight for even a minute. It was understandable though. She knew her fellow Slayer felt cheated out of those years she’d missed. She was trying to make up for it now. Buffy loved the mom side of Faith, it was such a sweet thing to see.

Dig a hole, she was in deep.

They reached the Bronze and headed in the doors, quickly spotting most of the potentials out on the dance floor. Kennedy and Dawn seemed to be having a good time together as they danced in much the same way as Buffy used to dance with Faith. Her sister and Kennedy sure had become close in the last few months. Dawn never really had many close friends, so it was probably a good thing.

Finding Willow and Tara sitting on “their” couch, Buffy grabbed Faith’s hand without thought and pulled her towards the other two. It had been so long since any of them had been here. She was surprised no one else had claimed their spot. “Where’s Xander?” the blonde asked as she sat down.

“He’s around here somewhere. Think he went to get something to drink.” Willow answered, looking around the room to see if she could spot him. Waving her hand in the direction of the bar, Buffy looked and spotted their friend waiting behind a group of potentials trying to order drinks with their fake IDs.

A slow dance came on and Willow got up holding her hand out to Tara to lead her onto the dance floor. Buffy looked around envious of all the couples out there celebrating the most romantic holiday there was together. She loved her life with her family and friends, and she loved being a mom. But sometimes she really wished for that companionship that only came from a lover.

She couldn’t help herself as her eyes traveled over to Faith and looked the girl up and down. Faith didn’t seem to notice she was being watched, as the brunette let her eyes wander over the changes the club had made since she’d last been there. Seeing Faith so relaxed and happy brought a smile to Buffy’s face.

Faith’s eyes finished their travel around the room and slowly found their way to Buffy, realizing the other girl had been staring at her for awhile. A part of herself long forgotten came out as she smirk at the older girl. “Ready to show them how it’s done?”

Standing up, Faith reached out her hand to help Buffy up, leading her out to the dance floor as the music switched over to a much faster rhythm. The two girls let their eyes wander over each other as the danced to the music, their bodies occasionally touching each other. Reminding them both of a simpler time, before all the badness.

Faith placed her hands on Buffy’s shoulders, wiggling her hips down slowly and popping back up seductively. Neither girl bothered to notice anyone else in the room. They were both clueless to the audience they were gaining as they had eyes only for their partner. They entwined their fingers, each pulling back stretching their arms out, then pulling themselves back together, closer than they were before.

Faith danced around Buffy, standing behind her. She ran her hands down the smaller girl’s body, until her hands were resting on the blonde’s hips, leading them to move with her. Buffy placed her own arms across her body, placing her hands on top of Faith’s.

This was how it had always been between them before, this innocent flirting. But maybe it had never been innocent. Maybe they had always let their bodies say the things their mouths could not.  Buffy knew for sure now though that whatever it had been in the past, it was real to her now. She was drawn to the dark one in a way she never knew she could be.

Turning to face Faith, she wrapped her arms around Faith’s neck, holding her close. The song ended, but neither girl noticed as their eyes locked and they both tried to figure out what they were seeing within each other. Without thought, their bodies slowed to fit the song now playing, pulling themselves closer together.

Buffy wasn’t sure which one was moving, or if it was both of them, but their faces were only inches apart now. Buffy was nervous, so much had happened in her mind tonight. Was she ready for even more than that? A few more millimeters and there’d be no turning back.

“Hey, Buffy,” Xander called out, trying to make his way through the dance floor, unaware of what was happening between his friend and Faith.

Buffy’s head snapped around to face Xander as if in a daze. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and focus on her friend when she noticed the seriously look he had on his face. “What’s up?” she tried to ask casually.

Still unaware he’d interrupted anything, “Few of the girls noticed a vampire in here tonight, they followed him out back. Thought I’d better come find you in case they need some help.”

“Damn, all these nights of no activity and they come out on our night off? I’ll go see if they need help,” Buffy spoke, annoyed at the turn of events, and headed towards the door that led to the ally out back.

“Wait up, B, I’ll go with you,” Faith called, following after her. She wasn’t sure what happened just now, but she wasn’t ready to let the blonde girl out of her sight just yet. They were both disappointed to find the girls had it handled as Rona put a stake through the vamps heart just as the door closed behind the Chosen two.

The three potentials that had been out there, headed back inside, ready to get back to the party, leaving Faith and Buffy alone outside. Buffy couldn’t make herself look at Faith, afraid of what she’d see. When Faith didn’t say anything about what almost happened inside, Buffy figured she just wanted to forget about it.

Not wanting to make a fool of herself, “I think I’ll just call it a night, head home,” the blonde muttered. Not even sparing the brunette a glance, she headed for the street.

“Okay, I’ll uhh… go with you.”

“It’s okay, I don’t want you to cut your night short on account of me.”

“No I’m good, want to check up on Vaeh anyway.”

They walked home in silence, neither girl really knowing what to say. This was new to both of them. Especially Faith who still didn’t have a clue what was going on with them. All she knew was she’d looked at Buffy differently tonight, and it didn’t feel like a bad thing.

Nevaeh was passed out on the couch when they walked through the door. Giles didn’t bother to ask why they were home early. After thanking him, the Watcher headed off to bed. Faith carefully lifted Nevaeh into her arms, and the two Slayers made their way up to bed.

Buffy made her way into the bathroom first to get ready for bed, while Faith tucked Vaeh in. Once she came out Faith took her turn. She came out of the bathroom and couldn’t help the smile that filed her face to see Buffy lying there just watching their daughter sleep, obviously content for the first time that night.

Faith crawled into her side of the bed and caught Buffy’s eyes over Nevaeh’s head. She gave the blond a reassuring smile, and waited as Buffy slowly allowed herself to do the same. Reaching out they entwined their fingers overtop of Vaeh and fell asleep quickly that way.


	23. Chapter 22- Confession (May 2003)

**Chapter 22**

“So, everybody know what they’re doing?” Buffy asked the group huddled around the maps on the table.

“Of course, but are ya sure, B? About going it alone I mean?” Faith asked, not really liking the idea of Buffy heading off on her own.

Buffy looked up into Faith’s eyes, seeing the worry hidden in their depths. A trickle of pleasure coursed through her at the thought that Faith actually cared. She knew that she did, but these small moments where it showed through always made her feel good. “I’ll be fine, just a little bit of recon. It’ll be better if the girls all go with you.”

“Sure we shouldn’t send the girls with Xander and I’ll go with you? Or maybe not hit them both at the same time?” Faith tried again.

Buffy placed a comforting hand on Faith’s shoulder. She didn’t like the idea of them separating either, but this seemed like the best solution. “Faith, I think it’s better this way. Hit both places at once, they won’t be expecting it. And the girls need you to lead them this time.”

“Okay,” the brunette nodded her head, trusting Buffy.

Later, as Buffy walked quietly alone towards the vineyard, she was beginning to rethink this plan. A few days ago a new player had come into town calling himself Caleb. They didn’t know much about him yet, but they knew he was dangerous. And that he was holing himself up in a vineyard on the outskirts of town.

They agreed it was too dangerous to send the girls all in, not knowing what this man was capable of. But Buffy still wanted to see if she could find out more about him. He kept claiming he had something that belonged to the Slayers, but they hadn’t yet figured out what it was. So Buffy’s job tonight was to see if she could figure out what it was.

\--

Across town Faith led the girls through some tunnels, trying to remember the layout on the map she had studied before leaving the house. She should have thought to bring it with her, but she figured it would probably be better if she memorized it so that she didn’t have to fuss with it, not knowing what they’d find.

A few days ago Kennedy and several other potentials had decided to take matters into their own hands and left without anybody knowing it. They went out and captured a Bringer and brought it back. While Faith stood behind Buffy’s lecture on how stupid they had all been to do such a thing, secretly she was impressed.

The girls had decided that maybe they could gather more information from the enemy if they could interrogate one of the ugly guys. Their plan had worked it seemed. The Bringer had hinted towards a stash of weapons hidden somewhere underground.

That’s when Buffy had devised the plan to split up. Faith still didn’t like it though. She was afraid of Buffy going off on her own. She had felt closer to the other girl since Valentine’s Day, more than three months ago. The two hadn’t had a moment alone since that day, mostly because Faith was avoiding the situation. Not ready to deal with what had almost happened. Or what she thought would have happened if Xander hadn’t interrupted them. Still didn’t stop Buffy from touching Faith every chance she got, and the dark Slayer couldn’t say she hated it.

“Hey, hold up,” Faith threw back over her shoulder, as they seemed to come to a dead end. Shining her flash light around, they noticed all the weapons just laying around.

“I don’t get it. Why should they just leave this stuff?” Amanda asked from behind her. No sooner had the words left her mouth then a Bringer jumped down into the light from Faith’s flashlight.

“Maybe because they didn’t,” Faith yelled back as everyone went into battle. The room was dark with only flickers of light bouncing around the walls from the girl’s flashlights, making it hard to see. Faith let her senses take over as she flew at the closest Bringer, hitting him square in the face. She grabbed for his knife, stabbing him with it before moving on to the next one.

The battle was over quick and everyone tried to catch their breath as Faith searched the room, making sure everyone was still with them. “Yo, Faith, check this out,” Kennedy called her over, pointing her flashlight down a set of stairs.

Faith led the way downstairs, the girls all following closely behind, not wanting to get to far away from the Slayer. When they reached the bottom they came to a small platform. There was a narrow bridge leading over sewer water to the platform on the opposite side.

Faith made her way across, wanting to see what was in the metal case on the other side. A padlock held it closed, so she kicked it free and pulled up the top to see a countdown of only eight seconds. “Everybody get out,” she screamed, turning to run, there wasn’t enough time though before the blast sent her flying into the water below.

\--

Buffy crept through the doors to the vineyard, making her way quietly through the building. Two Bringers were standing guard in front of a wooden door. They appeared to be the only ones in the room and she moved quickly, stabbing the closest one with the small knife she’d brought with her, throwing him dead to the floor.

The second one threw a punch to her face just as she turned sending her spiraling back. As soon as she got her bearings back, she threw back several punches, too fast for him to get another punch in. Figuring the surprise was blown, she opened the door, throwing him down the stairs as a signal of her arrival.

Caleb stood between the barrels of wine. The two threw words back and forth for a minute. Having come across him one other time, she knew he was strong, his power seeming to match her own. She was hoping if she tired him out, he’d be easier to fight. So instead of throwing a punch she dared him to touch her and began flying around the room. She’d proven to be strong, but he obviously wasn’t nearly as fast.

It was only after he had pushed one of the barrels away that she noticed the small opening in the floor. Whatever he was hiding must be down there. Seeing her opening she ran for the small doorway, dunking under Caleb as he swung at her and sliding through the opening.

Back on her feet, she made her way down the stone steps. The stairs opened into a large forgotten room, and at the end was the most beautiful weapon she’d ever seen stuck in rock. She knew immediately that it belong to her and felt much like Arthur when he pulled Excalibur out of the stone.

It was in her hand long before Caleb had managed to make his way down. He stood in front of her only way out. She wasn’t worried though, with the weapon in her hand she could easily beat him.

Before she had the chance though he started talking seemingly to himself, but she knew it was the First. As if it wanted her to hear it too, she listened carefully and clearly heard the words, “Faith go boom.”

Not liking the sound of that one bit, she ran past Caleb, not caring if he followed. She had to get to Faith. Nothing else mattered in that moment.

She ran through the sewer tunnels wishing she had thought to study them like Faith had, but she didn’t know she’d need to. Instead she let her Slayer connection guide her, giving her a small comfort that at least the other girl was still alive.

She could hear the girls just below and began banging at the ground with the Scythe, trying to create a hole, knowing there was no time to find another way. A few minutes later she came crashing through the ceiling to find the potentiasl surrounded by three ubervamps, and no idea where Faith was.

Not giving it a moment’s thought, she didn’t even have her feet fully on the ground before she attacked the first and then second ubervamp. Dusting them easily. She could get used to this weapon. The third one tried to make a move, but a slice to the neck and he turned to dust.

Soon as the dust was clear, she looked around the room, seeing what girls were left. It was then she noticed Faith against a wall propped up. She was out cold. Buffy moved over to her, putting the Scythe against the wall, she lifted Faith up over her shoulder before picking it up again.

“Get the wounded, we’re leaving.”

Buffy barely noticed the weight of Faith on her shoulder. Too worried to process anything else. Faith had to be okay, she couldn’t imagine anything else. And she didn’t want to have to explain to Nevaeh what had happened.

As soon as she was through her own front door, she shouted for the others to come quick, and directed them to help whoever they could. With Faith still over her shoulder, she took the stairs quickly heading up to their room. Laying her down on their bed, she wrapped the blankets around the taller girl. Gently pushing a dark hair out of her face, she leaned down and pressed a kiss to Faith’s forehead, sending a silent prayer that she’d wake up soon.

Making herself leave Faith if only for now, she headed down the stairs to help with the other injured, knowing there wasn’t much they could do for Faith until she woke up.

\--

Later that night, Buffy sat by Faith’s beside, not willing to leave her side any more than she had to. They hadn’t had a chance to be alone since Valentine’s Day, but her feelings for the younger girl hadn’t changed any over time. She briefly wondered if Faith knew and was avoiding her.

They’d finally built a friendship between them, and not wanting to mess that up, she hadn’t pushed the issue. She figured Faith had just wanted to forget it even happened. Buffy wished she could do that, but she just couldn’t.

The almost kiss was forever in her mind, if that’s what it really was. She wanted to know what it would have been like, and what would have happened afterwards. Would Faith have freaked out when it was all over?

Anybody who knew them and knew their history would have thought it would have been Faith wanting to push something more between them, and Buffy the one likely to freak. That just wasn’t the case. Buffy wanted more between them, but she wasn’t sure if it would ever happen.

They’d come so far as friends. The kind of friends they should have been in the beginning. They also had Nevaeh to worry about. She didn’t want to mess everything up between them when so much hung in the balance if it went bad.

Watching over the other girl tonight, left her with hope in her heart that Faith would wake up and be alright. And maybe when that happened, she’d be able to talk to her about everything she was feeling.

Willow walked in then, with a sleepy Nevaeh in her arms. They’d managed to keep her occupied all day so she hadn’t seen Faith yet. But Buffy asked Willow to bring her up a little before bedtime so she could talk to her about what was going on.

She held her arms out for Nevaeh, and Willow released her so the little girl could drop her arms. Running her hands through her daughter’s hair and placing a kiss on her forehead, she turned to Willow. “Thanks, Willow.”

The witch just nodded her head silently, glancing at Faith with a sympathetic look, before heading out the door.

“Mama hurt?” the tot asked, looking up at her mother.

“Yes, baby, Mama got hurt. She’s sleeping though so she can get better.” There was no other way she could find to explain the coma Faith seemed to be in to a two year old. It wasn’t the first coma Faith had ever been in, and it might not be the last.

“I kiss her better?”

“I’ll bet that would help her out tons.” Buffy smiled, placing Vaeh on the bed. The two year old crawled over to Faith and placed a kiss on her cheek. Seeing her little girl yawn, she pulled the blankets back so Nevaeh could climb in next to Faith to sleep. She knew the tot wouldn’t be persuaded to sleep anywhere else.

Nevaeh curled onto Faith’s shoulder, content to just lie there. “Why don’t you tell Mama about your day before you go to sleep?” Buffy offered. “I’m sure she’d like that.”

Nevaeh didn’t have to be told twice, and between yawns went into the long tale of what she’d done at home while they had all been out. Buffy just smiled, watching as her little girl slowly fell asleep. Faith was too important to Nevaeh, she had to wake up.

Long after Nevaeh had conked out, Buffy sat there watching the two of them. Reaching out she pulled Faith’s hand into her own, touching it to her cheek gently, loving the feel. “Come on Faith, you have to wake up. Please.”

When she didn’t get a reaction, Buffy triedd again, and again. For hours she sat and talked to the unconscious girl, just hoping she’d wake up. “You can’t leave us, Faith. Don’t you dare. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

The tears began to pour. “Please just wake up. Nevaeh needs you. She’d be devastated without you. I can’t imagine you not being in her life, or me having to raise her alone.”

“Please just wake up. I need you too.” Buffy cried, resting her head on the bed next to Faith’s hands.

“B,” a small whisper filled her ears. Buffy looked up, wiping her eyes. Through her tears she could see as Faith tried to open her eyes.

“Faith, come on, open your eyes.” She wrapped Faith’s hand in her own tightly, squeezing it encouragingly.

Faith’s eyes fluttered open slowly. “B, wha… what happened?”

“You got hurt, but you’re okay now,” Buffy reassured her. She went on to explain what she knew of what had happened and let Faith fill in what she already knew. They sat in silence as the darker girl pieced it all together. She tried to sit up when she felt more herself.

 “Don’t get up, you need to just rest.” Buffy stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

Faith just nodded laying her head back down and wrapping her arm back around her still slumbering daughter. “Don’t wanna risk wakin’ her up anyway,” Faith agreed.

Looking back at Buffy, Faith noticed for the first time that Buffy’s eyes were swollen like she’d been crying. “B, you cryin’ over me?” Faith asked teasingly, not believing she was worth such tears.

“Of course I was. I was scared when you didn’t wake up. You’ve been out for hours. I didn’t know if you’d ever wake up.” Buffy sniffed, feeling the tears come to the front of her eyes again. “I was worried what that would mean for Nevaeh.”

“Awe, B, no worries. I’m fine now. I ain’t goin’ nowhere. Got too much to live for.” Faith looked down at Nevaeh, showing exactly what she meant by that. Running her hand soothingly across her daughter’s side, she leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I’d always be with her, even if I kicked it.” She added as if it didn’t matter.

“It wasn’t just about her. I wondered what it would mean for me if you weren’t here. If I could never say all the things I wanted to tell you.” Buffy let the tears out, not afraid to let Faith see how much this whole thing had affected her.

“Awe, B, don’t cry over me, I ain’t worth it.” The fact that Faith believed what she said, only made Buffy cry even more. She knew the other girl didn’t know what she was talking about. She knew it was now or never, if only she just had the courage.

Pulling Faith’s hand up to her cheek, she cradled her hand into the other girl’s palm. “You are worth it, Faith, more than you know.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re worth it to me, Faith, because I don’t want you to leave me. Because I want to be with you.” Buffy leaned over the bed and placed a small, gentle kiss on Faith’s lips, before leaning back up to add the last thing she wanted to say. “I think I’m in love with you,” Buffy finished in a whisper. She knew Faith had heard the words though as she watched the thoughts play through her dark eyes.

Faith just sat there in a stunned silence.


	24. Chapter 23- Confession Pt. 2 (May 2003)

**Chapter 23**

Faith felt like she was frozen. Did Buffy just say she was in love with her? That was just uh… she didn’t know what it was but it certainly left her speechless. When did that happen? I mean they were barely friends right? Well ok, so they’d become pretty close since Nevaeh was born, but Faith had always assumed it just had to do with their daughter.

There was that almost… whatever it was on Valentine’s, but she’d just put that down to a fluke because of the holiday.

“Look it’s ok, you don’t have to say anything,” Buffy tried to reassure her when she saw the state Faith had gone into. “I just wanted you to know. You don’t have to worry about it. Just forget it.”

Buffy huffed, not sure what she was doing. She started to pace by the side of the bed, trying to figure out if she’d made a momentous mistake. “I mean Nevaeh comes first to both of us, and well, we’re just becoming friends so that’s what’s important.”

Needing to reassure the blonde, Faith grabbed her hand as she walked in front of her again. “B, stop pacing. Just sit down.”

“Ok, ok,” Buffy stopped, plopping back down into the chair she’d occupied while Faith had been unconscious, never letting go of Faith’s hand.

“Look, B, it’s cool ok. Never figured ya for playin’ for the same team. But I am wicked hot, so it’s understandable,” Faith smirked, getting a small smile from the other Slayer. The brunette could admit to herself she’d always enjoyed flirting with Buffy, but was it more than that? She wasn’t sure.

Taking a deep breath, Faith knew it was time to be serious. “I’m gonna be honest with ya. I’m still trying to get used to this life I have now. I don’t know much about how I feel about anything. I gotta think about this, but I don’t want to let you think…”

“Faith, stop. I know this is all new. And I know you’ll need time.” Buffy stopped, holding tighter to Faith’s hand and placing her free hand back on a warm cheek, wanting to know she had Faith’s full attention. Looking deeply into her eyes, Buffy continued, “I know your life hasn’t been easy, and I know you’ve never really had any kind of love. I understand that you’ll need time, and it’s ok. Just know I’m not going anywhere. I think we could have something great if we get through all the crap and really try.”

Buffy leaned over and placed another kiss on Faith’s lips, this one lingering longer than the last. “I’ll wait, because I believe you love me too.” The blonde placed another kiss to the younger girl’s forehead. “I’m going to tell everyone you’re awake, you just rest.” And with that she was out the door, leaving Faith to her thoughts.

The brunette looked down at the sleeping girl in her arms. “Baby girl, what am I gonna do about that mother of yours? Huh? Never believed myself to be gay, but the idea of being with your mom, not such a horrible thought.” Faith let her mind wander over the possibilities as she slowly fell back to sleep.

Down in the kitchen, Buffy poured herself a cup of coffee and held the cup between both hands, sipping it slowly. “Faith’s awake,” she told Willow, who was sitting at the counter, waiting patiently for her friend to talk, knowing she had something on her mind. “She’s gonna be ok.”

“That’s good then,” Willow smiled.

“Yeah, she’s gonna be fine,” Buffy said again to herself, as the tears began to come out again. She tried to wipe her eyes, but she knew she was too late. Willow had already seen them.

“Buffy, what’s wrong?”

“I was scared, she was out for so long.”

Willow got up from her seat and walked around to wrap her arms around her friend, holding her tightly. “It’s ok, she’s ok now.”

“I love her, Will.”

“Shh, I know,” the redhead tried to calm her down, gently rubbing her back.

“You do?” the upset girl asked, looking into her friend’s eyes.

Willow just shrugged. “Of course I do, I’m your best friend. I’ve known it for awhile. Since before we even got her out of prison.”

Buffy just stared in shock, she hadn’t realized she’d been that obvious, considering she didn’t even know herself how she felt until recently. “Wow.”

“Don’t worry, everyone else knows too, no one’s gonna even be shocked.”

“WHAT?” Buffy almost yelled, aware there were girls all over the house sleeping.

“Shh,” the Wicca shushed, smiling. “Yeah, I think there was even a pool between the potentials to see how long it would take for one of you to admit it.”

“One of us?”

“Oh, Faith isn’t that good at hiding it either.”

“You think?” the blonde asked, truly curious. She’d had her own suspicions, but hearing it from someone else would help.

“I know.” Willow just smiled again. Causing Buffy to do the same. The two girls chatted for a few minutes before Buffy said goodnight and headed back upstairs. Seeing Faith fast asleep with Nevaeh still wrapped up in her arms, she crawled into bed beside them and cuddled close to them both, placing a hand across them. Content for the first time in awhile.

\--

The next morning when Faith woke up, she found that Buffy was already up and out and had been for awhile. She knew she came to bed though, she’d felt her even in her sleep. Nevaeh was also wide awake, if the little girl’s chatter floating up the stairs was anything to go by.

She got up slowly and headed into the bathroom. Her muscles were definitely aching, no surprise considering she was in an explosion. Letting hot water roll over her body, she cleaned up and got dressed. She was in dire need of some coffee, or maybe some alcohol, whichever she found first.

“Faith, what are you doing up?” Buffy worried as soon as she noticed the other Slayer enter the kitchen. “You should be in bed, you’re hurt.”

“I’m fine, B. Just a little sore. Promise,” Faith charmed, but it didn’t work on the blond,e who was quickly moving to her side. “Really, Buffy, I just need some coffee.”

“Well here, sit,” Buffy ordered, leading her to a chair in the dining room. “I’ll get you some.” She rushed into the kitchen, before returning with a mug of coffee, just the way Faith liked it.

The dark Slayer took a sip, realizing it was just the way she liked it. She smiled at Buffy but didn’t say anything about it. “So, what do we have here?” she asked instead, gesturing to the weapon on the table.

“It’s a Scythe. Other than that, we don’t know. Took it from Caleb. Whatever it is though, it has power.” Buffy picked it up, handing it to Faith so she could feel it for herself.

“Damn, that’s strong.”

“Yep, now we just need to figure out what it’s for.” They all discussed some of  it’s possible uses and what it could mean for their side. But Faith couldn’t concentrate on the conversation all around her. All she could see was the caring way Buffy looked after her, and looked at her. She realized she’d been doing that for a long time, Faith just didn’t know that’s what she was looking at. She needed to figure herself out fast, for all their sakes.

Her mind just wouldn’t let it go, as she took Nevaeh outside to play. She watched her little girl run through the sprinklers, so young and carefree. Was she ever that carefree? She couldn’t remember a time when she didn’t have something to worry about. For as long as she could remember she had to take care of herself. Her mother was always too drunk or passed out to make sure her daughter was fed and clothed. And her father, well it was better when he wasn’t around.

She’d learned early in life that men were to be used and discarded. Sex was just sex and once it was over it was better if you got gone. That’s about the only time men and women seemed to get along was in bed. So she never allowed herself to come even close to having any relationship with a man. Closest thing was the mayor and look where that got her. Nevaeh was the only good thing to come out of any of it.

She smiled as her daughter turned to make sure she was watching as she jumped through the water. Definitely the only good thing. Nevaeh had two moms and that seemed to be working out just fine. She didn’t need a man, they were good for one thing.

But Buffy wasn’t a man. No she was all woman, and maybe that’s just why it might work between them. She’d like to think they’d matured enough not to kill each other though if they got into a fight. And all couples fought sometimes right?

Couple? Wow, that’s a word she never thought she’d say about herself.

Glancing at Nevaeh again, she realized in her musing her girl had stripped her swimsuit off and was now running through the water butt naked. “Nevaeh Anne, get your suit back on!”

Knowing she was caught, the little girl grabbed her princess swimsuit and ran over to her Mama to have her help get it back on. “Help.”

“Girl, you gotta quit going around naked.” Faith knew it fell on deaf ears though. The toddler had a hard time keeping her clothes on. The Slayer prayed it was a phase she’d grow out of. “Now for a real problem. Do you think your Mom and I should be together?”

The little girl nodded her head vigorously. “Do you even know what I’m talking about?” Nevaeh shook her head again. “Like Red and Tara, kissing and stuff?”

Nevaeh smiled a mischievous smile, “Mama kiss Mommy.”

“Well. glad to know you’re ok with it. I just don’t want to mess things up you know. Me and B, we’re doing really good now. It’s not the girl thing that’s bugging me, it’s the whole relationship thing that scares me. Ya know?”

“No scared, fight bad guy,” Nevaeh said seriously.

Faith smiled, Vaeh wasn’t quite following her, but it was cute that she tried. “Yeah, Mama gonna fight the bad guy, then maybe she can talk to Mom.” It was probably better that way anyway. If her and Buffy started something and then they fought the First and something happened to one of them it would just be harder. She had time to figure things out anyway. They weren’t ready to fight the First just yet.

The kitchen door opened behind them, “Hey, Faith, get Vaeh dried off and bring her inside. Angel’s here and he and Buffy have an idea to beat this thing,” Willow told her.

The original Scoobies all sat around in Buffy and Faith’s room while Buffy and Angel explained about the amulet and the idea that had come to Buffy while training with the Scythe. It sounded like a brilliant idea to Faith and suddenly she realized she didn’t have as much time as she thought she did. Buffy wanted to go down into the Hellmouth tomorrow morning.

“Anya, Tara, I want you two to take Vaeh to LA. I need people who can protect her. And other than Willow, who I need here, you’re the strongest person I know, Tara,” Buffy explained, before turning to Dawn. “I want you to go with them.”

“No way, I’m in this one,” the brunette replied stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Fine, but if you get killed, I’m telling.” She didn’t know who she was telling, but it seemed like the best comeback Buffy could come up with at the time.

That night, Faith and Buffy packed up some of Vaeh’s stuff and the brunette carried her down the stairs while Buffy carried her bag. Anya and Tara were waiting by the door. The four of them walked out wordlessly to the car.

Faith hugged her daughter tightly, “I love you, baby girl. You be good ok?” Faith tried her best to keep the tears at bay, not knowing if this was the last time she’d see her daughter. After she was finished she handed her over to Buffy.

“Oh, sweet girl. You have fun with Anya and Tara at Uncle Angel’s house ok? Mama and I will see you later.” The blonde, too, hugged her daughter close before leaning into the car and strapping her into her carseat. Nevaeh began to cry for her Moms knowing something wasn’t right.

“It’s ok, baby. We love you. We’ll see you later. I promise,” Buffy tried calming her down.

“Mama!” Nevaeh squealed.

It took everything in Faith not to unhook her and hold her close and never let her go. “Mommy’s right, we’ll see you later. You just have fun.” She waited until Buffy had closed the door before letting the tears fall down her face. Anya climbed into the passenger seat while Tara walked around to the driver’s side.

“We’ll keep her safe. You guys just beat this thing,” Tara said over the hood of the car. Buffy nodded as she watched her friend climb in the car.

The two Slayers stood there watching the car as it pulled away from the curb. Noticing the tears in Faith’s eyes, Buffy pulled Faith into a tight hug, and the two watched crying in each other’s arms as the car turned the corner.

“We’ll see her again,” Buffy reassured both her and Faith. Hoping it was the truth.


	25. Chapter 24- Chosen (May 2003)

**Chapter 24**

It wasn’t until long after the car was out of sight before Buffy and Faith finally made their way back inside. They were both feeling the loss of their daughter and silently made their way upstairs to their room, neither wanting to bother talking to anyone. They wanted to get this battle over with so that they could get their little girl back. It hadn’t even been an hour and already they were feeling the loss.

Wordlessly, they both kicked off their shoes and crawled into their side of the bed, not bothering to change. It didn’t seem to matter. They both laid on their backs, staring at the ceiling, not bothering to say what was on their mind. Both thinking of the next day and what awaited down in the Hellmouth.

“Hey, B?” Faith asked quietly, breaking the silence. Buffy rolled to her side to look at Faith, who followed her lead and did the same. “I still haven’t figured anything out, but without Nevaeh here between us it just feels so…” Faith trailed off, not sure where she was going with that.

“It’s ok, I get what you mean,” Buffy assured her, knowing what Faith was feeling because she was feeling it too. The blonde cuddled closer, pulling Faith into her arms. “Shh, let’s just get some sleep ok?” Not knowing what was going to happen tomorrow, they both needed that connection to each other.

Buffy placed a gentle kiss to Faith’s forehead, rubbing her back soothingly as she often did with their daughter to get her to sleep. The younger girl’s eyes slowly closed as she drifted off to sleep. Long after she was in dream land Buffy watched her, knowing she was the one she could love for the rest of her life.

\--

The next morning Robin led them into the school, pointing off areas in the building that needed to be protected.

“Ok, Kennedy, you go with Willow, help her through the spell.” Buffy directed. “Anybody want to go with Andrew?” she asked, not wanting to leave the cowardly boy by himself to protect the north hall alone.

“I’ll go.” Amanda offered, not really liking the idea of heading down into anything with the name Hell attached to it.

“Alright. The rest of you, follow Faith and Angel to the basement.” Xander followed with some bathroom advice, but nobody paid him much attention, focused instead on the battle at hand. The four original Scoobies stood around, trying to decide if this was a moment to say goodbye, but not wanting to, knowing what it would mean. Instead they made idol conversation, speaking volumes without really saying anything important.

When Buffy made it down into the basement, she found the potentials circled around the seal waiting for her.

“You first, B,” Faith said, offering Buffy the knife, who took it easily.

“Ok, but first,” the blonde replied back, watching Faith turn to see what she was going to say next. Instead of saying anything, Buffy leaned in placing a kiss on Faith’s lips. Caught unaware, the Dark Slayer just let her counterpart do her thing, loving the feel, and opened her mouth just enough to let the blonde take the kiss deeper. Neither noticed all the potentials smiling at them. Pulling back, Buffy hugged her close, putting her lips close to Faith’s ear. “Just wanted to remind you that I love you, so take care of yourself down there.”

“You too, B. Vaeh needs us both.”

Buffy just nodded, knowing they weren’t just going into this fight for the world. They were going down there to fight for the right to have more time with their daughter. And when it was all over, maybe they could finally be the family they were meant to be.

The seal opened and they all headed down inside, unprepared for the sight of all the ubervamps that awaited them in the canyon below. The power began to flow through each of the potentials, and suddenly this battle was looking like it could be won.

“Buffy! Catch!” Kennedy yelled, throwing her the Scythe. The blonde began to fight with a vengeance. Feeling more powerful than she’d ever felt before.

Buffy watched as some of the vamps made their way up the stairs and out into the school. The blonde, using her General Buffy voice to lay down her orders. “Keep the line together. Drive them to the edge. We cannot let them…” a pain to the gut cut her words short. Looking down she noticed a sword through her stomach from behind. The pain so intense she fell to the floor.

Faith, several feet away, and fighting her own battle, felt Buffy go down through their connection. Knocking the vamp she was fighting down, turned to find the blonde, hoping she was ok. “Buffy!” Faith yelled, running to the downed Slayer.

“Hold the line.” Buffy held out the Scythe for Faith to take.

The blonde was hurt pretty badly. Both girls knew it, but they also knew what they had to do. The fight had to go on, even if Faith’s instincts were telling her to grab the other girl and run as far as she could away from all of this. She could take care of Buffy later, when the battle was won. She just hoped she was still alive by then. But, by handing her the Scythe they both knew what that could mean.

So instead Faith just took it, and nodded her head. Wishing she had more time to say all the things she wanted to say. Instead she of letting sadness take over, she let the anger fill her, turning and swinging at one vamp after another, killing the creatures who had done so much damage already.

The anger wasn’t enough as the ubervamps surrounded her, now seeing her as the biggest threat to them. She managed to pass the Scythe off before being pinned to the ground. She could feel Buffy getting weaker, and it was as if she too was losing power. Their connection ran deeper than either of them realized. It seemed as if maybe neither of them was going to make it out of this one.

Buffy watched from the ground as people around her, people she cared about, fell to the ground dead. Worried herself that she wouldn’t be able to get back up and see her daughter again. And if it wasn’t enough, the First had to come and taunt her like it was some game, dressed as herself.

But when it was all over and it asked her what she wanted, it was all the kick she needed to find the strength to get back up. “I want you… to get out of my face.”

No sooner was she up, than Rona passed the Scythe back to her. Feeling that power flow through her she went back to battle, swinging fast and harder than she ever had before.

A sense of power washed over Faith who was still buried in vamps. She could feel as Buffy stood up, and it gave her the strength to get herself back up. Knocking them away she swung her feet, throwing herself back into a fighting stance, and went back to what she did best, kicking ass.

A bright light shot up through to the sky from the amulet around Angel’s neck. The light stretched out through the room, annihilating every single ubervamp. Buffy ran to stand by Angel as the room began to shake, the girls made their way up heading out as fast as possible.

Faith yelled for Buffy to get out, but the blonde stayed, trying to convince Angel that it was done that they could leave now. The broody vamp would have none of that. Feeling as if he was finally doing something he was chosen for.

“She loves you, you know.” Angel just told her instead.

“What?” Buffy whispered, not following.

“Faith. She loves you. Probably always has.”

“I’m sorry…” Buffy tried to apologize, knowing he’d seen them kiss earlier and knowing how he still felt about her.

“No. It’s alright. It makes sense, you and her. Take care of each other.”

Buffy touched him gently, remember all the things she loved about him, but then ran for the stairs, wanting to get back to Faith.

The school was already collapsing and sinking into the ground as she made her way up to the top of the building and onto the roof. In the distance she could see the bus, and ran and jumped from building to building, finally landing on top of the bus.

They stopped at the edges of Sunnydale and took a moment to take note of what they’d accomplished that day. The rest of the drive to LA was quiet. Everyone just letting them take it all in, the battle, the people that were no longer with them, the potentials and Robin who died on the bus. Buffy and Faith sat in the back seat, cuddled together, their hands entwined. Faith knew that first chance they were alone, the two needed to have a talk.

\--

As soon as the two entered the Hyperion, a two year old bundle of joy came squealing towards them. “Mommy, Mama!”

“Hey baby, miss us?” Faith asked, scooping the bundle up, knowing Buffy was still probably hurting from her injury. She gave the girl a kiss and hug, leaning her over towards Buffy so she could do the same.

“Did you have fun with Aunt Tara and Aunt Anya?” the blonde asked her daughter.

“Uh huh,” the tot nodded her head vigorously. “Missed you.”

“We missed you too, kiddo,” Faith assured her, hugging her again, breathing in her fresh baby scent.

“Where’s Angel?” Fred asked carefully having been watching the exchange from the desk. They waited until all of the LA crew was in the room before they told them of Angel’s death. They were sad of course, but they understood he died a hero.

Giles helped Fred assign the girls all a room in the hotel. “We’ll just take one room, G-man,” Faith told the Watcher when he started to give them their separate rooms. “It’ll be better for Nevaeh, strange place and all.”

“Of course,” Giles conceded in his British way.

Buffy smiled, glad Faith still wanted to share a room with her even if it was just for Nevaeh’s sake. There was hope, for them she was sure of it. She just had to give Faith whatever time she needed, but they’d be together one day. She just had to be patient.

After all those months of dozens of girls all being cooped up in a tiny house, it was weird to have so much space. And Buffy was going to enjoy every last second of that space. They’d still need to decide what to do next, but for now it was nice just to get to rest.

The Chosen Two made their way upstairs with their daughter to find their room. Angel, over time had been fixing up many of the rooms and this one was one he’d seemed to take pretty great care of.

“I wanna take a shower, but don’t have anything to change into.” Faith grunted, landing on the bed with Nevaeh on top of her.

“Yeah, we’ll have to go out and get some clothes. Thank goodness I thought to put my driver’s license and debit card in my pocket. Surprised it stayed in though through all that.” As the thoughts of all they’d lost came into her mind, Buffy’s tears began to fall.

“Hey, B, what’s wrong?” the brunette asked, seeing the tears.

“We lost everything, clothes, pictures, my home. All of Nevaeh’s baby pictures, gone.” Buffy cried harder now. She’d miss her pictures with her mom too, but it was Vaeh’s baby pictures that hit her the hardest.

“Vaeh, go get your backpack for Mama,” Faith whispered. The tot ran off and grabbed her Little Mermaid backpack and brought it back to Faith. The younger pulled something out of the pack, before going over to sit by Buffy. “We didn’t lose them all,” she told the crying girl, showing her the picture of the three of them in leather jackets. “See.”

“But how?” Buffy asked, having missed the exchange between the other two.

“I packed it with her, in case something happened to one or both of us. At least she’d still have some memories,” Faith just shrugged. “There’s a couple more in there, one of you and her when she was a baby, and one of me and her that Christmas in the prison. Which I never saw a camera, so how you did that one I don’t know.”

“It’s my secret.” The blonde smiled widely, “Thanks, Faith.”

“You’re welcome. Now let’s go see what we can do about getting some clothes so I can get out of these ones covered in dust.”

Fred lent Buffy a pair of sweats so that she wouldn’t have to go out in her blood covered clothes, and the two girls took their daughter and started walking. They were told there was a mall just a couple blocks down the street.

“You hold one of our hands the whole time, understand?” Buffy asked the little girl, as they entered the three story mall. The curly-haired girl nodded her head and grabbed onto both their hands. The three of them walked from store to store looking very much like the family they were.

Several people had noticed how the tot called to both of them as her mother and commented on how cute she was and what a cute little family, or a cute couple they were. Buffy would smile and say thanks, watching Faith the whole time to see her reaction. The brunette seemed to be just as proud about it as she was though.

When they tried to pass the toy store, Vaeh would have none of that and pulled them both inside. It was then they both noticed that the girl was stronger than she had been before. They both exchanged looks that said they forgot the Scythe spell might affect her too even though she already had Slayer powers. Now wasn’t the time to discuss it though.

“Well, she does need new toys now too,” Faith shrugged, as the journeyed through the store. They left the mall with plenty of clothes to last awhile and toys to entertain the tot for awhile.

\--

“B, we need to talk,” Faith said quietly to Buffy that night after Nevaeh had fallen asleep in the middle of the king size bed they would be sharing. The Californian just nodded her head following Faith over to the couch across the room. She waited, letting Faith take this where she wanted it to go.

“I um… I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and so I guess I just…” she wasn’t good at this feelings thing.

Buffy took her hand, “It’s ok, just take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Ok well, we haven’t really talked about our past, or even mentioned it. I just… I’m sorry, ok? I know I pulled a lot of shit and I hurt you but I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I forgave you for that stuff a long time ago. You’re not that person anymore, I know that. I’m sorry I didn’t try to help you more. We were both messed up kids who saw far too much of the world. We both made mistakes. It’s all forgotten, alright?”

Faith nodded her head, glad to have that out of the way. “I’s cool, I mean the you not helpin’ me thing. I wouldn’t let ya anyway. Was too messed up,” the Bostonian admitted honestly.

She took a deep breath before going on. “Today, I didn’t see you but I felt you, when you got stabbed. It’s like our powers are connected to each other. When you go weaker I felt like I was losing some of my strength. And when you got up, I felt a surge come back through me. It made me realize something.”

She checked to make sure the blonde was still listening. “We’re connected, and I don’t just think it’s the Slayer thing. I think it’s more than that. And it’s something I’ve always felt. I’ve just been scared to admit it. And that worries me even more, because there’s not a lot I’m scared of.”

“What I’m saying I guess is that, I love you too,” Faith huffed out quickly.

Buffy’s smile was a mile wide as those words filled her ears. “Oh, Faith. I love you so much. I don’t know when it started, but I know I do.”

The two sat there, staring at each other, speaking though no words were spoken, before claiming each other with their mouths. Buffy was the first to open up, letting Faith’s tongue claim her own. They found themselves sprawled out along the couch making out like they never had before.

Faith was the first to pull back before things could go too far. “It’s been so long.”

“For me too,” Buffy admitted.

“But I want to do this right. I don’t want to screw it up. And, well, it’s new for both of us,” she stopped, making sure Buffy agreed this was new for her too. “So I want to take it slow.”

“I can do slow, slow is good,” Buffy said easily. Just so deliriously happy that Faith was hers now. Nothing else mattered.


	26. Chapter 25- Nevaeh (June 2003)

**Chapter 25**

The sun shining in Buffy’s eyes slowly brought her back to consciousness. Stretching and working out all the kinks from the night before, she turned to face the other occupants in the bed before opening her eyes. A smile lit up her face when she took in the sight of Nevaeh curled into Faith, whose chin was resting gently on the top of her daughter’s head, protecting her from the world.

There were days she wanted to be jealous of the connection between Nevaeh and Faith, but how could she? Especially when she knew that connection is what Faith needed more than anything. It’s what saved her from herself. She loved Faith, and she wanted to see her get all the happiness the other girl could stand.

Leaning over, careful not to bump their daughter, she kissed Faith gently on the lips, trying to rouse her slowly. It worked, as Faith’s eyes started to flutter and then open slowly. Tipping her head back, without breaking her hold on the toddler she smiled, “Mmm, you sure know how to wake a girl. I could get used to that.”

“You say that every morning,” Buffy smiled back.

“And I mean it every morning.”

It was true, Buffy had been waking Faith that way every morning since they defeated the First almost a week ago. The two hadn’t moved beyond kisses every chance they got and a couple of very hot make out sessions. They didn’t bother to hide their affections from anyone, and as Willow has said, nobody was surprised. Life was too short to worry about what anyone else thought.

“Although, as much as I love this munchkin, starting to wish she wasn’t between us,” Faith flirted.

Sliding closer, Buffy wrapped her arms around both girls and kissed Faith lightly again. “Mhm, me too. We’ll be heading to Cleveland in a few days, then maybe she’ll have her own room again.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Oh please, you’ll be running in to check on her every chance you got if she had her own room.”

Faith just let out a noise, letting Buffy know she was right. Faith was the typical over protective mother. The blonde couldn’t wait to see what Faith would be like when their daughter become a teenager, and heaven forbid, started dating.

“You ready for this meeting?” Faith asked, changing the subject.

Buffy sighed, “Not really, but I think it’s probably time, don’t you?” Faith just nodded her head in agreement. “I just wish we could keep her innocent a little longer.”

“Me too, but it’s probably best if we get this over with before heading to Cleveland.”

They both knew Faith was right. They had decided it was time to come clean about Nevaeh’s powers to the gang. They couldn’t hide them for very long. The girl was proving to be just as strong and fast as the other new Slayers.

Buffy placed one last kiss on Faith’s lips, before getting out of bed. Not bothering to hide in the bathroom, she just turned her back to Faith and quickly changed into clothes for the day, knowing the other girl was watching her. She couldn’t hide the smile on her face. As much as she understood the need for them to wait, she couldn’t deny the fact that she could wait for the day they finally did love each other fully.

“I’ll head downstairs, see if everyone is ready for us. You get the kiddo up and dressed,” Buffy commanded, heading out the door.

Faith just nodded as she watched her go, her mouth dry from that little tease, and it was only Buffy’s back she saw. Her brain was going haywire, repeating over and over again, “want, take, have.” And she wanted, now that the possibility was on the table, she wanted bad.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she quickly got herself dressed and then roused Nevaeh so that she could do the same. The little girl ran into the bathroom as soon as she was alert. Faith smirked, watching her go. Buffy had worried that with losing their home and everything Nevaeh would slide back into having accidents, but the little girl seemed no worse for the wear. She was a tough cookie, just like her Mama.

\--

“So we called this meeting, because well, we have something to tell you guys,” Buffy started.

“If this is about you and Faith, well Buffy, it’s really not a secret,” Xander smirked.

“It’s not,” the eldest Slayer replied quickly. “It’s about Nevaeh. We didn’t tell you guys before because we wanted to be sure, but then after the Scythe spell…” Buffy trailed off, still wanting to keep this to herself.

“Is something wrong with her?” Willow asked curiously, not getting it just yet. The Chosen Two had mostly kept to themselves the last week, so none of them had really seen the little girl.

“She’s got Slayer powers,” Faith blurted, wanting to spare Buffy and just get it over with. “Before the Scythe spell, Buffy noticed she was stronger than most kids, pushed a bully twice her size down. So we were testing her.”

Buffy took it from there. “She was stronger and faster than most kids her age. She also had better instincts than most, which is why I think she could run all over the place and not get hurt. And well, why she ran to begin with, so much energy and power within her,” she paused, catching her breath. “She wasn’t at full Slayer strength, but it was definitely there. But now…” she stopped, figuring someone would figure it out.

“And when we did the Scythe spell, she received her full powers,” Willow finished, putting the pieces together.

“Yeah, she did,” Buffy confirmed sadly. She didn’t want this for her daughter. She was two years old. Far too young to deal with all this crap.

“Why didn’t you tell us all this before?” Giles asked sternly. “We would have rethought the Scythe spell.”

“We didn’t tell you, because I know you, Giles. You would have wanted to study her and test her. She was only a year old when I started to notice it. She’s a baby!” Buffy replied back sharply. “She’s my daughter and I was protecting her!”

“We didn’t realized the spell would affect her,” Faith tried to defuse the situation.

“Right, well,” Giles started, not sure what to say that wouldn’t piss off either of the Slayers.

“Look, I’m sorry we didn’t tell you,” Buffy tried. “I was just hoping that maybe, I don’t know, that maybe she was as powerful as she was going to get. That maybe she wouldn’t grow up into a Slayer. We didn’t want this for her.”

“I understand that, Buffy,” Giles said honestly, slipping into the father and grandfather role again. “But we need to figure out where her powers come from, since they were there before the spell.”

“Well we know Robin didn’t have any powers. Did any other Slayers have kids?” Willow asked, finding a starting point. They’d briefly discussed it when Robin showed up, but never really got any answer and since it wasn’t important, it was quickly forgotten.

“There were a few that did have kids before being called. I’m not sure about after.” Giles answered, trying to remember. “I believe there was one other that gave birth after being called.”

“What was her name?” Willow asked, already moving to the computer.

“Um, let me think, I believe it was Callie Grey.”

Willow typed furiously on the computer, “Have any more information than that? Kind of a hard name to search for.”

“Yes, she was a Slayer in the late 70’s, I believe, her father was American if I remember right but her mother was English.”

“Well that narrows it down some.” Willow jumping from page to page so quickly no one could even guess how she could see what she was doing. “I think I found her, there was a Callie that died in ’79 at the age of 19. Shortly before that she gave birth to a… it looks like a son.”

“So as far as we know, Faith is the only one to give birth to a girl after being called?” Buffy asked, trying to keep up.

“Quite right. It’s possible that simply by having a girl she passed her powers down genetically. But I’d still like to do some more research, just to be sure.” Giles barely finished his thought before heading out of the room and towards Angel’s library, since it was the only books they now had.

“I’ll go help him,” Willow told the two mothers. “We’ll figure this out.”

“Thanks, Red,” Faith said seriously, giving her a pat on the shoulder.

After everyone else was gone, Faith turned to see Buffy on the couch, lost in thought with the beginnings of tears in her eyes. “She’s only a baby, Faith. This isn’t fair on her. What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know, B.” Faith pulled Buffy into her arms hugging her closely. “We’ll figure it out,” she reassured her, placing a soft kiss in her blonde hair.

“What is her life going to be like? It was hard enough hiding who I was in high school. How can she do that when she goes to kindergarten? She’s not going to understand.”

“We’ll see what Giles and Red come up with, maybe they’ll have some answers for us. And we’ll help her understand,” Faith promised.

“Mama! Mommy,” a tornado yelled, running into the room. Buffy quickly turned to the side and wiped her eyes, not wanting her daughter to see her upset. “I go sfim?” the tot asked.

“You want to go swimming?” Buffy asked her with a smile on her face.

“Uh huh,” the toddler nodded her head.

The hotel had a pool, but it wasn’t filled up or working. Angel had never felt the need to fix that up.

“Well sounds like a good day to hit the beach. Don’t you think, Mommy?” Faith turned the question to Buffy.

“That sounds perfect. Our last trip to the beach, before we head to Cleveland, which is beachless,” Buffy answered with a frown.

“I’m sure we’ll find water somewhere,” the Boston girl tried.

“But it won’t be the same.”

Faith ignored her, turning to Nevaeh. “Alright, kiddo, let’s go get your suit.”

\--

As soon as Nevaeh saw the water, she ran down the beach hitting the surf. “Nevaeh Anne, get back here!” Buffy shouted. “We have to get your lifejacket on.”

Nevaeh huffed, walking back to her mothers. She didn’t want no stupid lifejacket on. She could swim all by herself.

“Don’t give your mother that look,” Faith said sternly, seeing the look Vaeh was giving to Buffy. “We know you can swim, but you’re still little. No going in past right here either unless we are with you.” Faith put her hand at Nevaeh’s waist to show her how deep she could go. The girl was already showing signs of being as stubborn as both her Moms. Faith couldn’t wait to see what she was like as a teenager and she was told she couldn’t do something.

Vaeh dutifully put her lifejacket on, before heading back into the water, careful not to go in too deep and get in trouble. Buffy and Faith laid out towels a safe distance from the water and sat down side by side to watch their daughter play.

“She’s so stubborn,” Faith muttered.

“Don’t I know it. Wonder who she gets that from?” Buffy joked, gently bumping her shoulder into Faith’s.

“Hey now!” Faith sputtered, feigning being upset. “You’re more stubborn than I am, who’s to say she didn’t get it from you?”

Buffy desperately wanted to have a comeback for that. But she was stunned into silence with Faith’s insinuation that Vaeh could get anything from her. I mean there was that theory of nurture verses nature, but still. It was instances like these that she remembered they were parenting together, a team.

They sat in silence for several minutes as Buffy pulled the sunscreen lotion out and began to apply it to herself. She’d done Nevaeh carefully in the car, knowing her kid wasn’t going to wait once she saw the water, but now she needed to take care of herself.

“Faith,” she said quietly holding out the bottle to the other girl and turning her back, gesturing over her shoulder. It took a full minute for Faith to take the bottle and get her brain working again. Squeezing the tub, she ran her hands up and down the smaller girl’s back, enjoying the feel of the skin under her fingers.

Faith took longer than was probably necessary and used more than enough of the lotion, before she finally removed her hands from the hot skin.

“Want me to do yours?”

“Nah, it’s ok. I don’t burn easy,” Faith answered quickly. She knew if Buffy did to her what she just did to the blonde, they’d both be ready to explode. And that wasn’t a good thing at the moment.

Buffy just nodded and laid back, shielding her eyes with her sunglasses and hat. She knew Faith wouldn’t take her eyes off their daughter. It wasn’t long after that, that Faith noticed Buffy’s breathing had evened out and the other girl was asleep.

Ripping off the t-shirt she was wearing, and shimming down her shorts to reveal the black bikini underneath, she headed for the water. She’d only been sitting with Buffy to keep her company, now she could go play with her daughter.

Picking up speed, she hit the water at a full run and picked up the little girl, tossing her further into the water.

“Mama!” the little girl squealed when she’d come back up, floating with the support of her lifejacket.

Faith proceeded to pick the little girl up and toss her again and again until they were both exhausted. She enjoyed moments like this, just her and Nevaeh doing what they did best, make each other laugh. How could she ever think she never wanted kids? This one was the light in her life.

Buffy woke up a short time later. She didn’t know how long she’d been a sleep, but it had obviously been a while. She turned her head so that she could watch her girls in the water. She thought about joining them, but they were having so much fun, they hadn’t even noticed she was awake yet.

Before long, they began walking towards where Buffy laid, and the blonde’s mouth dropped open as she watched the water drip off Faith’s stomach. Her mouth watered as she stared at the younger girl’s tanned stomach.

“Hey, you’re awake,” Faith observed once they hit the towels.

Buffy couldn’t speak, her eyes hooked to the scar along Faith’s stomach. She’d seen it a few times, but never bothered to look to closely at it. Now it was all she could see. Sitting up, she grabbed Faith by waist and pulled her closer so that she could place a tender kiss above the scar. “I’m so sorry, Faith.”

“Hey, what’s this?” Faith asked kneeling in front of the Californian. Faith gathered Buffy’s face in her hands when the other girl tried to look away with tears in her eyes. “It’s ok. We talked about this already, remember? It’s forgiven.”

“But I shouldn’t have done it,” Buffy sniveled.

“You had to. If you wouldn’t have stopped me, no tellin’ what would have happened.”

“I didn’t do it for you.”

“I know, but it still needed to be done. So it don’t matter why ya did it. So just stop cryin’ alright? It’s in the past, it’s over.” Faith gathered the blonde in her arms. “I love you and you love me. That’s all that matters now.”

“I do love you.” Buffy smiled, pulling Faith into a quick kiss.

“Me too?” the toddler asked, feeling upset about being left out of the conversation.

“Yes we love you too, you goof,” Buffy laughed pulling Nevaeh into her lap, tickling her quickly before kissing her on the forehead and wrapping her in a hug. Faith wrapped her arms around them both and they just sat there, enjoying the moment of being together.


	27. Chapter 26- Cleveland (June 03)

**Chapter 26**

Faith stepped out of the van and stretched her arms above her head, enjoying the freedom to actually move. It had been a long and very tight day. Tight meaning they were all cramped together for far too long.

The brunette almost beat the shit out of Giles when he woke them up at 4:30 this morning in order to get ready to head out. The two Slayers had reluctantly gotten up and dressed. While Buffy finished getting their stuff ready to go, Faith dressed Nevaeh, who slept through the whole thing. The little girl never even stirred as Faith lifted her to her shoulder, just cuddled into her neck and continued to sleep.

They were pulling away from the hotel within half an hour of waking, along with the core Scooby gang, several of the former potentials were coming with them, making fifteen in all. The rest of the girls would join them in Cleveland later, after they’d spent some time with their families.

Their flight didn’t leave until just before nine, but with that many people, they felt they should get there early to get them all through security on time. Luckily, the toddler had slept through their entire wait, but as soon as they were on the plane the little girl woke up. Buffy and Faith spent the next five hours trying to entertain the girl in the cramped cabin.

The relief from finally touching down in Cleveland was short lived as Giles hustled them all out into the van that was waiting for them outside. There wasn’t a seat to spare, and adding a booster seat in for Nevaeh did not help provide room on the bench that she was sharing with her mothers. The Chosen Two were squished together, while the side of the booster clung to Buffy’s leg.

So when their hour long drive finally came to an end, Faith jumped out quickly and began stretching out her aching muscles. Buffy came to stand beside her with Nevaeh in her arms. Without even thinking about it, Faith wrapped an arm around Buffy, pulling the smaller girl close to her.

“Sob, G, where are we?” Faith asked the Watcher, as he made his way over to them.

“We’re about an hour outside Cleveland. I would have liked to procure something closer to the Hellmouth, but this was the closest I could find that would hold us all.”

Buffy and Faith turned to take notice of the compound before them. In front of them was a simple metal fence, but a large brick wall stretched out around the compound, hiding most of it. Giles stepped towards the gate and pulled an envelope out of the pocket of his jacket and dumped a key into the palm of his hand.

Unlocking the padlock he threw the gate open, motioning for all of them to enter the compound. While they all walked down to the main building, he stepped back to talk to the van’s driver about where to pull in so they could unload their stuff.

The group stood outside the doors to the building and waited for the British man to catch back up with them. “This used to be an old military training facility many years ago,” Giles started to explain when he reached them. “The old Watcher’s Council snatched it up as soon as the government decided to sell it, but it’s never been used since. As you can see there’s adequate space for training, and to the east side there are several barracks as well as dorms for the commanding officers.”

Giles went on to explain his plans for updating the facility and how one of the buildings he’d already decided they wouldn’t need would be demolished and in its place they would build bigger places for the originals. Until then they’d have to use the dorms. Once they could move into their new places the dorms would be used for the more experienced girls and the barracks for the newbies.

Faith and Buffy looked around one of the small dorm rooms. One bed was all that would fit, so that meant they were back to the living arrangements from Buffy’s house, still all sharing one bed.

After checking out each of the buildings, the group all headed back to where their stuff had been unloaded and began claiming rooms or beds in the barracks. Faith headed towards one of the dorms with their stuff, but before they could head in and unload Giles came running up to them.

“Hold on, girls. I have a surprise for you.” The older man pulled a key out of his pocket, handing it to Buffy.

“What’s this to?” Buffy asked.

“Your new house,” her father figure answered, as if it should be obvious.

“New house, G?” Faith looked at Buffy to see if she had any idea what the other man was saying. But the blonde just shook her head.

“Did you see those trees towards the back of the compound?” When they both nodded their heads, he continued. “Just past those is a small three bedroom house that the General built for him and his wife when the military used it.”

“You serious?” Faith almost squealed, if she was one to squeal that is.

The older man just smiled at them, “Quite serious.”

Faith grabbed their stuff from where she’d dropped it on the floor and grabbed Buffy’s hand, pulling the blonde and their daughter quickly back out of the building. Before, Buffy had been too stunned to react, but now she was getting caught up in Faith’s excitement and put Vaeh down so that the three of them could race to their new home.

Nevaeh had no idea what was going on, but her mothers were really happy about something. She didn’t know where they were going, but she was fairly sure she was supposed to follow them. So running as fast as her little Slayer legs would carry her, she kept up with them.

The three of them stopped to stare at the small two-story house buried within the trees. It was just a bit smaller than Buffy’s house in Sunnydale, but it would be plenty big enough for the three of them, especially after all those months of living with so many people.

It had a porch that stretched across the entire front of the house, a small table was to the left and to the right was a wooden porch swing. In the center of them were a set of beautiful oak double doors. Through the window you could see the stairs that led to the second floor and Buffy briefly wondered if it was a similar floor plan.

The blonde walked up to the door and gently inserted the key, afraid this was all a dream. She swung the door open and cautiously walked inside. Faith was excited to have a place of her own, but she felt like this was something Buffy needed more, so she hung back and let the other girl go first.

Buffy walked further into the house checking out the living room and over to the kitchen. The floor plan had some similarities, but it also had a few differences. One being the nice size office that the General must have used daily if the well used desk was an indication. That’s where Faith found her when she finally walked in with Nevaeh at her side.

The threesome walked up the stairs together to check out the bedrooms. To the left was the master suite and adjoining bathroom, directly in front was one bedroom, a bathroom in the middle nestled in the corner, between the second and third bedroom that was to the right. Buffy wanted to cry for how perfect it was for them.

They unloaded their stuff into the three bedrooms, Faith deciding to take the smallest room, seeing as her and Buffy still hadn’t moved that final step, it didn’t seem right to just assume they’d share the master.

It worked out for them though, because it was easier to get Nevaeh to agree to sleep in her own room that night, telling her they each had their own room now. Even still, the little girl fought it every step of the way. After having spent all those months sleeping with both her mothers, she wasn’t too into the idea of not being with them both. They finally both had to lie with her until she fell asleep.

“I thought she’d never go to sleep,” Faith muttered, as the two headed down the stairs.

“Me too. But you can’t blame her, so much has changed recently. She’s still little, changes are hard on her.”

Faith sighed, “I know, I just hate it when she’s sad.”

“So do I.”

The two plopped down on the couch, grateful the house was fully furnished. They’d probably switch things out later, but for now it would work. Faith put her arm along the back of the couch, allowing Buffy to curl into her side. The blonde looked up at her girlfriend, “I’m so happy right now.”

Faith smiled, “I know, this is like fu… freaking amazing,” Faith finished. Some days she still had trouble with her language, but she really tried to set the example for Nevaeh, and the only way to make sure she didn’t slip up was to cut it out completely.

“You know what would make it better?” Buffy asked her with a mischievous smile on her face.

“What’s that?”

Instead of answering Buffy reached her hand behind Faith’s head and pulled her down into a kiss. Faith didn’t need to be told twice and quickly deepened the kiss. Never breaking the kiss, Buffy moved her head so that she could move onto Faith’s lap, straddling her. Her hands made their way into the thick waving hair, running her fingers through the tresses.

Faith wrapped her arms around Buffy’s waist, pulling her into her so their chests were pressing into each other. “God, I love you,” Buffy hoarsely declared when the broke for air.

Faith didn’t respond, claiming the blonde’s lips once again with her own. Pulling back again for a minute she flipped them around so that Buffy was beneath her, lying across the couch. Buffy stared deeply into the eyes of the one she loved, seeing everything reflected right back at her. Putting her hands on either side of Faith’s head, she pulled the girl down to kiss her again.

Their bodies rubbed together, creating a delicious friction even through their clothes, but it wasn’t enough. The smaller girl brought her hands down along the Boston girl’s body, finding the edge of her shirt. Her hands made their way under the shirt to touch the toned stomach underneath. A thumb lightly caressed the scar she had created, trying to heal and please all at the same time.

When her hands reached higher, moving to cup a breast, Faith pulled back. “B?”

“Maybe we should take this up to the bedroom?” Buffy whispered breathlessly.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, do you want to?”

Faith thought about it for a minute. They’d only been together a few weeks, but they’d lived together for months and known each other for years. They loved each other. “I think it would be the perfect way to spend our first night in our new house,” Faith answered honestly.

Faith slipped off the couch and helped Buffy get up. Holding her hand, they headed up the stairs together. They walked together into the master bedroom and Faith shut the door behind them. “There’s no lock,” she observed.

“We’ll get one tomorrow, tonight we’ll just have to just keep that Slayer hearing open,” Buffy easily dismissed. They both thought the girl was out for good, but you never knew with Vaeh.

They moved to stand at the foot of the bed, just staring at each other, neither knowing what to do next. “I’ve never done this before,” Buffy admitted. “With another woman that is.”

“Me either.” Buffy couldn’t help herself, she let out a chuckle. “What’s so funny?” Faith sputtered.

“We’re both virgins again. Me whose slept with a vampire and a steroid induced soldier, and you miss ‘get some, get gone’ are virgins again.”

Faith smiled, realizing she had a point. Her first time with a man was taken from her, by an asshole her mother dated. But here tonight she was being given a new first time. And she was nervous as hell. Pulling Buffy to her, she hugged her close. “I love you, Buffy.” Facing her again she leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on the other girl’s lips. “I’m so happy I get to have this first time with you,” she admitted, trying to be a tough girl, though a single tear rolled down her cheek.

“I love you, too,” Buffy whispered to her, kissing the tear away. Finding the hem of the dark Slayer’s shirt once again she pulled it gently off the taller girl. She knew what Faith was telling her and she wanted to make this time special for her. Of course the other girl wasn’t wearing a bra, so Buffy leaned down and put gentle kisses on the tops of Faith’s breasts then slowly kissed her way up along her neck and then kissed her lips once again.

Not breaking the kiss, she led the other girl so that she was forced to sit on the bed. Faith took the hint and laid back on the bed, scooting so she was laying in the center of the bed. Buffy crawled on top of her and pulled her shirt off, flinging it to the side.

“You think you get to be on top?” Faith smirked.

“Tonight I do.”

Faith just nodded her head, before pulling the other girl down fully on top of her to kiss her again. Unclasping the bra that was the only thing separating them, Faith flung it out of the way. She ran her hands along the sides of the blonde’s boobs several times before going back to holding her head while they kissed.

It wasn’t long before Buffy started making her way down Faith’s neck again and then settled to eye level with the glorious treasures before her. Running her hands lightly over Faith’s buds, she felt them stiffen underneath her fingers. Taking one into her mouth, she suckled gently, wondering how things could have been different and their daughter would have got her nourishment from these.

Going further, she licked Faith’s belly button, loving the reaction it was having on the badass, who was all but whimpering. Popping the button of the dark pants, she tugged on them until Faith lifted up enough to slip them off.

It wasn’t until Buffy’s head was between her legs that she realized what was going to happen. “You don’t have to, B. First time and all.”

The older girl answered that easily by placing a kiss on the inside of Faith’s thighs. She reached out, running her thumb over the wetness she found there, watching it build up on her hand. Putting the thumb to her mouth, she licked it clean, and liked the taste she’d found.

Needing no more encouragement, Buffy leaned down and took a taste directly from the source. Faith’s hips squirmed, wanting to get closer to the pleasure coursing through her. Her lover was doing an excellent job as her tongue made its way inside. Both Slayers moaned loudly as Faith could feel the orgasm build.

Knowing Faith was close, Buffy pulled her tongue out and slipped a couple of fingers inside, curling them upwards. She’d never admit it, but she got some advice from Willow. Finding just the right spot she ran her fingertips over the spot, while trying her best to put as much stimulation as possible on Faith’s clit with her mouth. Faith threw a pillow over her face to muffle the sound just a second before she screamed out.

Buffy smiled, proud of herself, as she slowly disengaged her fingers from Faith. Climbing up along the bed she moved to lie down next to the brunette, who was still desperately trying to catch her breath.

Faith flipped to her side, pulling Buffy close to her, wanting to hold her and never let go. “My God, B. Nobody has ever made me lose it like that.”

Buffy smirked, happy to know that she was the one that could do that to Faith. It just proved to her, that they were meant to be together. Faith pulled their faces together, kissing her deeply, not caring of the taste still on the other girl’s lips.

Rolling them a little further, she laid across the blonde. “Now it’s your turn,” she growled, before kissing her way down Buffy’s body. She should probably slow down, but after the way Buffy just made her feel, she had to have her. To give back what she was given.

Within seconds the last remaining clothing were gone from the Californian’s body. Faith stared at the girl, bare before her. “You’re so damn beautiful. I’ve always thought that.”

“Well I’ve always found you incredibly sexy, so we’re even.”

Before either of them could calculate the movement, Faith’s fingers were running across Buffy’s slit, making her back arch to get more contact. “Please, Faith… Gah… I need you so bad. Watching you come was too much. No teasing, baby,” Buffy begged.

Faith didn’t need to be told twice. Her mouth was on the clit, as her fingers slid in, trying to find the same treasure Buffy had found before her. She could get used to this she thought, as Buffy came in her mouth.

She licked her lips as she made her way up to lay with Buffy once more. She could definitely get used to this, she thought again, as they cuddled together. “Hope you didn’t wake the midget with that scream,” Faith laughed.

“Shut up and kiss me.” Faith knew how to take orders and kissed Buffy lightly before they both settled down wrapped in each other’s arms. “Night, B.”

“Mmm,” Buffy mumbled but she was out cold. Faith still had mad skills.


	28. Chapter 27- Morning After (June/ July 03)

**Chapter 27**

Faith slowly opened her eyes, the bed underneath her felt unfamiliar and she was trying to remember where she was. The room was just starting to fill with light, suggesting the sun was barely coming up. In front of her was the most beautiful face she’d ever seen. She smiled, remembering the night before. It had been the best night of her life.

Before getting out of prison, she’d never spent the whole night with someone before. It wasn’t something she ever wanted to do, not knowing what to expect from the other person. Having spent all these months sharing with Nevaeh and Buffy though, it made last night feel normal, comfortable. And she could see herself doing it for the rest of her life.

Gently, so as not to wake Buffy, she moved a piece of blonde hair that had fallen, tucking it behind the other woman’s ear so she could study her face more clearly. ‘ _How did I get so lucky?’_ she thought to herself, as she lightly traced Buffy’s face with her fingertips. She wanted to memorize every inch, so that if this ended up all being a dream, at least she’d have something to hold on to.

She remembered the day the First came to her as the mayor trying to convince her she’d always wanted Buffy’s love. But he didn’t have it entirely right, she didn’t just want Buffy’s love, she wanted to be able to love her in return. He was trying to taint it, make it something she wasn’t worthy of. The blonde before her made her realize that wasn’t so. She’d have moments she was sure where she didn’t feel it, but she knew at the end of the day Buffy would help her through it.

This was the first time she’d woken before Buffy since they’d been together and she wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. Leaning in, she placed a light kiss on her forehead, before moving down to take her lips with her own. The kiss was light at first, trying to rouse the sleeping beauty, but as soon as she felt her start to respond, she slipped her tongue out, deepening the kiss.

“Well this is a role reversal,” Buffy teased when they pulled apart to take a breath.

“Mhm,” Faith responded simply, rolling them so she was on top of the smaller girl. She smiled as she placed light pecks all over Buffy’s face, ending with her lips again. Smirking at the girl as she pulled back again.

“Are we aiming to get a little morning sex?”

“Mhm,” the brunette just smiled again, staring deeply into the eyes she loved so much. She began placing kisses on Buffy’s lips again, working her way down until she was nestled in the girl’s neck. Covering the scars from Angel with her own mouth, she claimed the spot as her own, hoping to leave a hickey, wanting the world to know who Buffy belong to now.

She began once again to work her way down Buffy’s body, stopping again to suckle at each of the blonde’s breasts. She’d never looked at another woman’s rack before in a sexual way, but she had to admit Buffy had good boobs.

“Faith, baby, ung….” Buffy panted, loving Faith’s mouth on her. “As much as I love this, you gotta stop.”

Faith jerked her head up when the words filtered through her brain. “What? Why?”

“Because I have a feeling our daughter will be joining us in, oh about three seconds.” Buffy wasn’t sure how she knew, she’d barely heard any sound within the house, but she just knew they better stop. Right then, they heard little footsteps out in the hallway. Faith jumped out of bed, throwing on her clothes.

They were given a few extra seconds when the girl first headed to the other bedroom looking for Faith, but when she didn’t find her, headed towards the master. Buffy just smiled as Faith threw her shirt to her and she quickly threw it on as the door flew open.

Little eyes made their way around the room, taking notice of her Mommy still in bed first and then her Mama standing on the side looking unsure of herself. “Mama, I look for you. You not der,” Vaeh said seriously.

“Sorry, baby, Mama and Mommy had a sleepover last night, so I slept in here,” Faith tried to explain, not sure how to explain to a two year old what was going on. “Why don’t we go get you dressed and give Mommy time to do the same.”

Buffy watched her girls leave, closing the door after them. She felt like she was where she was meant to be for the first time in her life. She didn’t want that feeling to ever leave.

Heading into the bathroom, she turned on the shower, running the water as cold as she dared. She was still feeling the effects of Faith’s mouth on her body, even with the idea that their daughter could have caught them. It didn’t completely quench her desire for what Faith had started. Drying herself off and dressing quickly, she headed down the stairs.

Faith and Vaeh were already in the kitchen, with Faith at the stove making her new specialty, pancakes. After dropping their stuff off in the house the day before, they had walked around town until they found a grocery store and bought a few essentials to last until they figured out what was going to happen next.

“Mickey Mouse,” the tot squealed from her seat on the bar. The bar chairs had backs and arm rests so they figured she’d be safe enough sitting up there. Plus with her Slayer powers, she’d probably be fine even if she did happen to fall off.

“One Mickey Mouse coming right up,” Faith told her, pouring the batter into the desired shape. Buffy sat down beside Nevaeh watching her girlfriend cook them breakfast. She’d smiled more in the last couple of weeks then she could ever remember doing so before, but she couldn’t help it. Faith was everything she never knew she wanted.

When the pancakes were ready they all moved to the table. What easily could have fed a dozen people, would be just enough to feed two full grown Slayers and one on her way to being one.

“Faith, I was thinking,” Buffy started, waiting for Faith to give her, her full attention. “You should just move your stuff into the master. It was a stupid idea for you to take the other room. Especially after last night,” the blonde smiled as the events of the night before flew through her mind.

Before answering, Faith tilted her head as if to say “What about Nevaeh?”

Buffy just nodded her head back that she understood. “Vaeh sweetie,” she said softly, getting the little girl’s attention, who until then had been unaware of the conversation between her parents. Too busy enjoying her Mickey Mouse pancake.

Buffy wasn’t sure how to explain this to their daughter, after making such a big deal about them all having their own rooms yesterday. “Vaeh, sometimes when mommy’s kiss and stuff they like to sleep in the same bed too. So we were thinking Mama would sleep in Mommy’s room from now on. Like Tara and Willow do. Is that ok with you?”

“Me too?” Vaeh asked hopefully. She loved her mothers and she liked sleeping with them.

“No, baby, little girls need their own rooms so they have room for all their toys,” Buffy said as carefully as possible, running her hands through her little girl’s hair. “We just had to do that at our old house because we had so many people living there. You had your own room before that though remember?”

Nevaeh tried to think back, but her little mind wasn’t cooperating, she thought she remembered when she was in her crib though all alone, curled up to Mr. Gordo that her Mommy had given her. “Still love Vaeh?” she asked with a sad face.

“Of course we still love you, baby,” Faith answered immediately. “And we can sit with you every night like we did last night, until you get too old and kick us out.”

“Ok,” the tot said, smiling.

After breakfast, the three of them went upstairs to move Faith’s few belongings into Buffy’s room. Faith was glad they had a fairly large closet, because she was sure before too long her lover would soon have the entire thing full. Hopefully she’d leave her at least a quarter of the space.

When everything was in its proper place, she walked over to Buffy and wrapped her arms around her from behind, kissing her on the back of the head. The shorter girl, placed her arms on top of her girlfriend’s and tilted her head back for a proper kiss. “Love ya, B.”

Buffy would never get tired of hearing that. “I love you, too. Welcome home,” she told her, feeling as if all was right with the world and they were truly together now.

Just after lunch, they left their little paradise, where they’d holed themselves up getting used to being alone as a family and headed to one of the buildings where Giles had taken possession of one of the offices as his own. For the next several hours, the old Scooby gang discussed how they would set up the training facility and how the classes would run.

Kennedy came and took Nevaeh to go hang out with the former potentials when she got bored of being in the meeting. The girls played games with her, testing her to see how her powers compared to their own. Kennedy was ashamed when the tyke beat her in a race around the building.

After the meeting was concluded everyone met in the cafeteria where several dozen pizzas were delivered. Tomorrow they’d have to decide how they were going to run meals and go grocery shopping for the entire facility. They were trying to decide if it would be easier to hire a cook, or just have the girls all take turns in the kitchen. It would need to be decided by the following week when the rest of the new Slayers started arriving.

When they were all stuffed, Buffy and Faith grabbed their daughter, who was quickly falling asleep, not having a nap earlier, and headed for home. They changed her into pajamas, before tucking her into bed.

“She really should have had a bath first,” Buffy commented.

“Yeah, but she was already asleep. She’ll survive sleeping dirty for one night.”

Buffy didn’t like the idea, but there really was no sense waking her up just for something like a bath.

Faith took her hand and led her into their room. “We never got a chance to go get a lock.”

“We’ll just have to be extra cautious until we do.”

Faith smirked, “Good, ‘cause I want to finish what I started this morning.” She was afraid after almost getting caught this morning Buffy wouldn’t want to do it until they got a lock, but last night woke something up in her that had been asleep since turning herself in, and she wanted more. Pulling Buffy close to her, she kissed her deeply.

They moved to the bed making much quicker work of shedding their clothes than they did before. Both wanting to just have that skin to skin contact again. Lying back on the bed, Buffy went from zero to sixty as soon as Faith’s mouth covered her in the most intimate place.

“Faith, baby, I uh… oh damn that feels good,” Buffy whimpered, biting her lip between her teeth as Faith swirled her tongue deep inside. “Baby… I need…,” Buffy tried again, but what Faith was doing was making her lose her train of thought.

Forgetting to try and get out what she wanted with words, Buffy put her hands through Faith’s hair pulling up gently. Faith took the hint and climbed back along Buffy’s body, kissing her deeply, as she used her fingers where her mouth had just left. Buffy’s scream was muffled by Faith’s mouth on hers as she came.

Faith rolled off onto her side, pulling the other girl into her and she came down, holding her close, as she kissed her lightly on the forehead. Both of them were breathing heavily for several minutes, trying to calm down. Soon as they had, Buffy climbed on, ready for round two.

Several hours later, they lay in each other’s arms, talking quietly through the night, both spent from the marathon they’d just been on. They talked about everything they’d never gotten around to before. Faith opened up even more about her childhood, leaving them both crying at one point. Their positions changed as Buffy now held Faith to her like a child needing comfort.

Faith looked tearfully up at Buffy. “Can I tell you something, B? Somethin’ honest? I don’t want you to hate me though.”

Buffy pulled the younger girl even tighter to her. “Faith, I could never hate you. I’ve never hated you, even when we were trying to kill each other. You can tell me anything.”

“Ok,” the brunette mumbled, trying to think of how to say what she wanted to say. “I hate that I missed out on Vaeh being a baby. But I’m glad I was in prison already when I realized I was pregnant. I was already feeling better about myself by that point, and there’s no way to get an abortion.”

Faith paused looking to see how Buffy reacted to that. The blonde just nodded her head for Faith to continue. “I know that if I wouldn’t have been in there, if I would have realized I was pregnant before going in, she might never have been born. And I hate that, I hate it so much. But before everything went down with you and me on Angel’s roof, I was in a really bad place. I wouldn’t have wanted to bring a child into that. I love her so much and it just tears me apart to think of how things could have been different.” Faith buried her head in Buffy’s chest, tears of shame falling down her cheeks.

Buffy knew how she felt, she couldn’t imagine her life without Nevaeh and she’d entertained the thought of what would have happened if Faith had never sent her to her. She was also sad to think of her never being born, but she was also sad for Faith and the teenager she had been when Nevaeh was born.

“Faith, look at me,” Buffy ordered, lifting the girl’s chin in her own hand. “You need to forget this and forgive yourself for something that _didn’t_ happen.” She knew this was eating away at Faith, and she wondered how she’d never noticed it before. “Everything happens for a reason. And I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. You wanted her the minute you found out about her. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have sent her to me. You knew if you did, you’d always know where she was and that she was safe.

“And I don’t believe for a minute you would have had an abortion if you could.” She continued, after giving Faith a minute to digest what she was saying. “You love her, and you needed her, even if you couldn’t keep her. So listen to me when I say you need to let those thoughts leave your mind. That isn’t the person you are. If you had never gone to prison, I know for a fact she still would have been born.”

Faith heard the words she was saying and really took them in. And she believed Buffy. She wiped the tears from her eyes, finally feeling like the person Buffy believed her to be. “How did I get to be so lucky?” she smiled through her tears. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now let’s go to sleep and after tonight I never want you to think of this again.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Faith joked, snuggling more into her girl, before letting herself fall asleep.

\--

Faith and Buffy walked the short walk to Giles’ office with Nevaeh riding on Faith’s shoulders, giggling the whole way. They had been in Cleveland for more than three weeks now and were finally getting into a new routine. They were now training several dozen Slayers and Willow was still trying to find more.

Having acquired all of the Council’s funds before even reaching Cleveland gave them more options. Giles was able to hire a crew large enough to tear down the old building and put up the new apartments in its place. They’d be ready to move into them within the next week and they were happy for the friends finally able to move out of the small dorms.

“Wonder why G called this meeting,” Faith wondered aloud, when they reached the doors to the building that housed all the offices.

“I dunno, he just said it was important,” Buffy shrugged.

“Ah, Buffy, Faith, you’re here,” Giles said, as they walked through the door. “Right, let’s get started then.”

“What’s this about, Giles?” Buffy asked.

“It’s about Nevaeh,” Willow said from her place next to Giles. “We’ve been doing a lot of digging through prophecies and such and we think we have some answers.”

“What kind of answers?” Faith questioned, not sure she liked where this was going.

“It concerns her parentage and where her powers come from,” Giles tried to start, but was interrupted.

“What do you mean her parentage?” Faith yelled. “Her powers come from me, right? I mean I’m her mother.” They weren’t trying to say she wasn’t right? I mean just look at her, she was a Lehane all the way through.

“Yes, of course. But we don’t think her powers come from just you.” Giles stopped, giving them a minute before he dropped the bomb on them. “We think we know who her other parent is.”


	29. Chapter 28- Destiny Revealed (July 03)

**Chapter 28**

_“Yes, of course. But we don’t think her powers come from just you.” Giles stopped, giving them a minute before he dropped the bomb on them. “We think we know who her other parent is.”_

The air was sucked out of the room with that one sentence. Sure everyone at one point or another had wondered who had gotten Faith pregnant. After all, the girl used to sleep with anything that moved, so it was amazing that it was the first time something like that happened. But in the end it didn’t seem to matter, Nevaeh was Faith’s and she was Buffy’s and that was enough.

“Her other parent, G?” Faith questioned, not sure where this was going. How could Giles and Red know, when even she didn’t. Didn’t make sense to her.

“Well, sort of,” the older man started to try and explain. “It’s a little complicated, so I hope you’ll hear me out.”

Faith and Buffy just nodded their heads for him to continue. “It seems as if, essentially Nevaeh doesn’t just have two parents, but in essence, she has three that make up her biology.”

“Three? How is that even possible?” Buffy inquired disbelieving.

“Let me start with this. Willow and I, in our research, came across a prophecy that talked about the child being born and she would be the most powerful Slayer ever born. This, as you can imagine, caught our attention, because it specifically talked about this Slayer being born, not called. It went on to explain that her powers would come from the Last Two.”

“The Last Two…” Buffy whispered, wondering if what was going on in her head could possibly be what he was saying. Faith got up from her seat and began pacing, occasionally glancing at Nevaeh, trying to figure out what all this meant for her daughter, the person she loved more than anything.

“Several possibilities swam through our heads, leading me to cast a few spells, looking for any connection to Nevaeh and we found it,” Willow smiled happily. Knowing what she knew, she couldn’t wait to let her friends in on the knowledge. This information would make everything so much better for her friends.

“We believe that Nevaeh was in fact conceived the normal way during…” the British man trailed off, rubbing his glasses as he always did when he didn’t want to have to think of what he was trying to say. He knew he didn’t need to go any further when it was obvious they all understood. “So in that sense she is like any other child.

“However, when you two switched bodies, it brought your connection closer, it combined the Slayer in you. Which is why I believe you could feel Buffy die Faith, and when Buffy felt you get stabbed in prison. The Slayer in each of you is now eternally linked.”

Buffy grabbed Faith’s hand when she passed by her for the tenth time and pulled her to sit beside her on the couch, leaning over to kiss her lightly on the lips. “See, we are meant to be, we’re linked.” The blonde smiled at her lover, kissing her a second time on the lips, letting it get a little heated, forgetting for a minute where they were and that Giles wasn’t finished.

The Watcher cleared his throat, reminding them there were still people in the world. When the two finally pulled apart and looked at him, he continued. “The spell switched your bodies back immediately, but looking the spell over, it said it could take as long as forty-eight hours before you’d be completely free of the other’s essence. So during this time is when Nevaeh must have been created. And because of the joined Slayer within you both, and because your essence, Buffy, was still within Faith, it became part of the process.”

“Giles, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Buffy asked, almost afraid to hope.

“I’m saying that biologically, if not genetically, Nevaeh is your child, Buffy. At the very least where her Slayer powers come from, but I do believe it is more than just the Slayer in her. Before she died, your mother and I once had a conversation on how much like you she is.”

 “I’m her mother? I mean I know I am, but she’s a part of me?” Buffy said in astonishment. Nevaeh had always felt like hers, from the day she showed up on her doorstep. But she’d never even entertained the idea that she was truly a part of her.

“You’re her mother!” Willow squealed giving Buffy a giant hug.

“Now, near as I can tell, she still has a biological father, but she also has two mothers.”

“Did you hear that, Faith?” Buffy asked her girlfriend excitedly.

Faith on the other hand, sat there in a stunned silence. Her face was void of any emotion. The smile on Buffy’s face fell, worried that Faith wasn’t happy about this. She thought she’d be excited about this. What did that mean if she wasn’t?

“Nevaeh has a great destiny ahead of her. Now, while Slayers are typically half Slayer and half human, she is more. Because of the circumstances during her creation, it seems as if she is more than two-thirds Slayer. Making her more powerful than we can even imagine currently.”

Buffy watched Faith intently as Giles spoke, but she wasn’t even certain what he was saying was sinking into the brunette’s brain. It was as if she’d completely shut off. Buffy worried for her lover, but she knew she needed to listen to what her father figure had to say about their daughter, if only so she could explain it to Faith later.

He went into more detail of the prophecy concerning Vaeh. When Nevaeh was born, the lineage of the Slayer was passed onto her from Faith. This was especially important, because they believed there would come a day when the spell wore off, or for whatever reason was undone, taking the powers from the once potentials. Had Nevaeh never been born with the power, this would leave the world without the Slayer line, because when the spell was cast, it would have pulled the line from Faith, and forever ended the call.

“So, we were always meant to do the spell? And Nevaeh being born before it happened will save the Slayer line?” Buffy asked, trying to make sure she understood.

“Yes, Willow’s spell to call all the Slayers was prophesized. But when she did it, she had to take power that calls the next Slayer from Faith. But since Nevaeh was born with powers, the spell doesn’t affect her, except to speed them up obviously.”

“So does this mean we’re dead, when the others eventually lose their powers?” Faith asked hoarsely, acknowledging for the first time that she was still listening. Wondering what kind of time line they were looking at for this future to happen.

“Not necessarily. Just as Buffy’s death no longer effects the line because she already died, it is the same with you, Faith. When Willow did the spell, it was an amplification of what would have happened had you died. As far as the line is concerned you are already dead.”

“Well that’s depressing,” Faith spat, getting up and walking out of the room. She couldn’t bear to hear another word.

“Mama?” Vaeh asked sadly when the door closed behind Faith.

Buffy walked over to her daughter and picked her up, kissing her on the side of the head. “It’s ok, baby, Mama just has a lot on her mind and needs a minute.

“So what you are saying is, eventually Nevaeh will be the only Slayer? Could the spell be done again?” Buffy turned to ask Giles. This was too much. She never wanted her daughter to have her life, and now it was destined that she would not only be a Slayer, but she’d be the only one again.

“Yes, Nevaeh would be a Chosen One again. As far as the spell, I’m not sure, maybe if there was a witch that can replicate it. As we have no idea when this will happen, I have no idea what the world would be like then. But whenever she was to die, the calling would begin again.”

The mother in her hated that Giles would even dare say the word die in reference to her little girl. But she understood what he was saying.

“She’s going to do great things, Buffy. You should be proud.”

Buffy just nodded her head, and holding her Vaeh close, headed for the door. She couldn’t talk about this anymore either. She knew what they didn’t say. They couldn’t protect the toddler from her powers. They’d have to train her, and teach her how to control them around other people. She’d never have a normal life.

Buffy found Faith sitting on their porch swing, lost in thought. She put Nevaeh down to play in the yard, knowing she wouldn’t leave her mothers’ sight. She had several outside toys that she was content to play with anyway.

“Are you ok, Faith?” Buffy asked gently, sitting down next to the woman she loved, taking her hand in her own.

“I’m five by five.”

Buffy knew what that meant, she was anything but fine. Faith hadn’t even used that phrase in longer than she could remember, which only made her worry more. “So you’re not ok.”

“I’m fine, B. Leave it alone.”

“No I’m not going to. I love you and you love me, that means we need to talk about this.”

“Buffy, seriously. I can’t talk to you about this!” Faith yelled, wrenching her hand from Buffy and heading into the house. Leaving Buffy to be even more afraid of what was going on in Faith’s mind. If she wouldn’t talk to her about it, what was she thinking?

Vaeh stopped playing when she heard her Mama yelling and turned to watch her go into the house. “Mama?” she called out, working her way up the four steps leading onto the porch.

“Come here, sweetheart. We just need to give Mama time.”

Buffy sat with Nevaeh on the swing, gently rocking them for over an hour. Eventually the little girl fell asleep in her arms, long overdue for her nap anyway. The blonde carefully held onto her, as she stood up and made her way inside. Tucking the little girl into bed, she went to find her lover, hoping now Faith would be more receptive. She didn’t want to push her, but they needed to talk about this.

“Faith?” Buffy called, quietly asking permission to enter their room, where she’d found Faith curled up in a ball on their bed.

The brunette turned to sit against the head of the bed and patted the mattress invitingly next to her. “I’m sorry, B. For snappin’ at ya.”

“It’s ok. I just wish you’d talk to me.”

“I’m afraid,” Faith admitted hesitantly.

Buffy pulled Faith to her, wrapping her arms around the younger girl and placing a soft kiss into her hair. “Of what?”

“What this all means. How things could have been different,” Faith said, but didn’t explain any further.

“What do you mean?” Buffy asked, afraid that Faith was thinking about the whole two mothers thing. It was that part of the conversation that Faith went almost catatonic and she was afraid that Faith didn’t want her as Nevaeh’s mother.

“She’ll never have a normal life. She can’t just be a kid. I wanted her to have a normal life when she was born. She never will.”

“I  know.” And she did, all too well. She wouldn’t even get the pleasure of not having her powers until she became a teenager, like they did.

“And to make things even more screwed up, she can’t even have two parents,” Faith sputtered out. She didn’t want people to see her daughter as some freak. She wanted people to love her because she was so special.

“I know,” Buffy repeated, pulling away from Faith sadly. She was afraid of this. “I’m sorry.”

Why was Buffy apologizing? Faith knew something was wrong as soon as her lover pulled away, but she didn’t understand what Buffy had to be sorry for. And then it hit her. What she’d said and how it sounded.

“Oh, B, I didn’t mean it like.”

“You don’t want me to be her mom,” the older girl said sadly, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Of course I do. Are you kidding? I’m so happy she’s both of ours.”

“You said it was screwed up!” Buffy pointed out in a huff.

Faith pulled her girlfriend into her arms, kissing her softly on the lips. “Yes I did, but I meant that she had three parents. I didn’t say which one screwed it up. What I meant is I wish she could be just ours. But how I think of it, is whoever he was, he just donated the necessary part that you couldn’t. Everything else came from you. I always thought she was like you. She had the Summers pout after all. But now we know she really does. She’s ours,” Faith finished, kissing Buffy again, only this time more intensely.

“She’s ours, really, really ours,” Buffy whispered into the lips attached to hers when they pulled away for a breath.

“Mhm,” Faith nodded, pressing her lips quickly to Buffy’s before moving down her neck.

“Baby, that feels so good,” the blonde whimpered, as her love found her favorite spot on her neck. She’d hardly been without a hickey there since the first day over three weeks ago that Faith had given her one.

The Dark Slayer moved to kiss Buffy on the lips once again. “We’re truly a family now. Connected forever,” she smiled at how happy that made her. No matter what happened she’d never be without her girls because they were both a part of her, and they were a part of each other.

“Oh yes, but if you’re going to finish what you started, you’d better do it quick, cause our daughter fell asleep without lunch, so she’ll probably be awake soon.”

“Ah, why you gotta go challengin’ me like that?” The brunette gave her the sexiest smirk, before she started her mission to get Buffy off as quickly as possible.

\--

It had been a week since Nevaeh’s destiny had been revealed, and nothing much had changed. Buffy fell in love with both Lehane girls a little more every day. She never thought she could love Nevaeh more than she already did, but she was wrong. Now she knew those little things that reminded her of herself weren’t just a figment of her imagination.

She watched as her lover and best friend chased their little girl around the field. Loving every minute of watching them together. She’d thank the heavens every day for bringing them both into her life.

It had been Faith’s idea to get away from the compound and have a family day with just the three of them. She’d packed them up some food for a picnic and borrowing one of the schools’ cars, drove them up the nearest canyon and found a nice little field for them to hang out on the mountain.

“So this better than the beach?” Faith asked, walking back towards where Buffy was sitting on the blanket they’d spread out.

“I wouldn’t say better than the beach. But anywhere that has my two favorite girls is alright by me.”

“Good,” Faith leaned down to give Buffy a quick kiss on the lips.

“Mama, can’t get me,” a little taunt rang out from behind her.

“Oh, you think that do you?” Faith questioned turning back to their daughter and took off after her. Sad thing was, Buffy was fairly certain Faith was trying her hardest to get her, but Nevaeh was way too fast for her. They knew it was good for her though. She needed to stretch her powers, but being so little they couldn’t train her conventionally. So they just tried to play with her like this, so that she’d be able to release all that energy within her. Otherwise, she’d be a very cranky Slayer.

“Alright, you two, get over here and eat some lunch,” Buffy called to them, when she noticed Faith start to get a little tired.

The three ate, enjoying each other’s company. Both listening to Vaeh tell her stories of what the newbies had done with her the day before. She also had a razor sharp memory, which wasn’t always a good thing. Especially when she remembered something her mothers would rather her forget.

Nevaeh ran off to play as soon as her food was gone. Faith leaned back against the tree behind them and pulled Buffy to sit between her legs, pulling her close and wrapping her arms around the other girl so they could both watch their girl play.

“You know, I never once thought of not sending Nevaeh to you. It always felt right. I think on some level I knew that she belonged to you too.” Buffy turned to kiss Faith quickly on the lips. “She was always yours, and when we found that out, I felt guilty once again, of ever entertaining the thought of not having her. That’s really what upset me that day. That if things had been different, it was your child I was doing that to, our child. I’ve always loved you, Buffy, in some way. And sharing a child, it means everything to me.”

“It means everything to me too. But you have to stop thinking about that, Faith. I mean it. She’s here, so it doesn’t matter.”

“No it doesn’t,” Faith admitted, knowing she was right. “I have everything I’ve ever wanted. Well almost.” Buffy looked at Faith, trying to figure out what she meant, but the girl was giving nothing away. “Hey, rugrat, come here!” Faith shouted instead. When Vaeh reached their side, Faith pulled her close, “Remember what I told you to ask Mommy?” The little girl nodded her head. “Ask her.”

“Mommy, you marry us?”

Buffy turned to look at Faith, thinking Nevaeh mixed something up and wanting to know what Faith wanted her to really ask. Instead all she saw was the black velvet box in Faith’s hand and watched as she opened it to reveal the ring inside.

“I know we haven’t been together that long. But we both know we’re meant to be together, so why wait? Marry me?”

“Faith,” Buffy cried, two tears slipping down her face. “Are you serious?” Faith just nodded her head. “Yes, of course, yes!” Lips collided in a kiss more passionate and more full of love than any before. “I love you so much!”

“I love you, too. We’re going to be a family.”

“Yes, we are!”


	30. Epilogue (Oct 03)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the story. I'll start uploaded it's sequel soon.

**Epilogue**

“Buffy, calm down,” Willow tried from her place in the Summers’ living room, as the nervous blonde paced back and forth in front of her.

“I can’t. I’m freaking out over here,” Buffy cried.

“Yes. Thus why I told you to calm down.”

Buffy took several more laps around the living room before she turned to her friend. “But what if she doesn’t really want this? What if it’s all wrong?”

“She asked you, didn’t she?” Willow asked, seeing the other girl nod her head in agreement. “Nobody can make Faith do something she doesn’t want to. She wants this.” The redhead stood and walked over to Buffy, placing hands on her shoulders to hold her in place. “Now, you’re going to go out there and marry the love of your life, and your best friend.”

“She’s not…” Buffy started, but was interrupted.

“She is. You spend every spare moment you have with her and with Nevaeh and its okay, Buffy. The person you marry should be your best friend. And as much as I love you, and your new found gayness, you’re just not my type.” The two girls laughed about that. “If Tara and I decide to marry someday then I’ll be marrying my best friend. Doesn’t mean we still won’t always be friends.”

The two friends hugged each other tightly, careful not to wrinkle the white spaghetti strap dress that Buffy has picked out for today. “Now go out there and marry your girl,” Willow ordered.

Buffy looked at the clock, noting it was indeed time. “Thank you,” she whispered to her friend, as she walked over to stand behind the front door. Willow followed, going to take her place in front of Buffy and behind Dawn and Nevaeh, who had watched the whole exchange from the sidelines. The double doors were pulled open by two of the younger Slayers as the Wedding March began to play.

Nevaeh led the way with a basket full of flowers. She had spent every day the last week practicing for this important task her mothers had given her. Her dress was a miniature version of Buffy’s except that it was white on top and faded to black at the bottom. In her hair was a mix of black and white flowers. She was careful not to trip, as she threw the flowers to the floor and made her way towards her Mama at the other end of the yard.

As Buffy made her way down the stairs and the aisle they had created in their front yard, she couldn’t help the smile that came across her face, as she took note of the entire Slayer Academy there to support them today. And then her eyes found her lover and she smiled even bigger to see the beautiful girl she was proud to call her own, dressed in a sexy black dress.

They’d spent the last three months planning this wedding in every spare moment they could find. They knew it wouldn’t be legal, but to them it didn’t matter, it was real in every way that mattered. They’d lucked out and it was surprisingly warm for mid October, so neither girl had to wear the matching jackets that came with their dresses.

As Faith was often referred to as the Dark Slayer, they decided to make that a part of their wedding theme, the light and the dark. Buffy knew whatever Faith was wearing would be black as her own was white, but she was not prepared for the strapless dress that draped her like a second skin. Faith told her she didn’t like dresses, but she wouldn’t tell her fiancé what she was planning on wearing.

The only thought that was on Buffy’s mind at the moment was getting through today so she could take it off her.

They had decided to let Giles and Willow each have a part in performing the wedding, combining tradition with a little bit of supernatural. But when it came to vows, that part was all for them alone.

“When you and I met, we were just a couple of stupid kids. We didn’t know what was right there in front of us, and we let it tear us apart. I couldn’t understand where you were coming from, what had happened to you before you came to Sunnydale. But I know that everything that happened was leading us to this moment. And I will be forever grateful that we not only share a daughter, but that she made it possible for us to be here together. She saved us. I will spend the rest of my life loving you, Faith.”

Faith choked back the emotion taking residence in her throat, as Buffy slid a ring on her finger, knowing her turn was next. When Buffy had stepped out the doors and made her way towards her, she wanted to pinch herself. This all felt like a dream to her, but if it was, she never wanted to wake up.

“Before you, Buffy, I never saw myself as the kind to settle down. Before Nevaeh, I never saw myself as the kind to have any kids. But you Summers girls have a way of changing a girls mind. I could never imagine my life without either one of you. Everything I had to go through to get here was worth it, because I get to be here with you, loving you. I plan on spending the rest of my life showing you just how much, and protecting you both until my last breath,” Faith finished sliding a matching ring on Buffy’s ring finger.

Tears were freely flowing down both girl’s cheeks as they looked at each other. Their hands both simultaneously reaching up to wipe the other girl’s tears with their thumbs. Still holding each other’s faces, they leaned in, kissing lightly.

“Yes, well I guess we pronounce you Wife and Wife, and I don’t need to tell you to kiss the bride,” Giles told them, knowing neither was listening, as the kiss between them became more intense. Applause filled the audience, but the newlyweds didn’t notice, too wrapped up in each other.

\--

“Hey, can I dance with my sister?” Dawn asked Faith later, during the reception.

“Sure,” Faith said easily, kissing Buffy quickly on the lips. “I’ll just go find our daughter, see if she wants to take a turn on the dance floor.”

Buffy smiled at the mischievous look on her wife’s face, as she went in search of their child. She was already teaching Vaeh some of her dance moves. The tot soaked them all up, she was gonna be a heart breaker just like her Mama.

Watching her sister’s eyes still on Faith, Dawn asked her, “You’re really happy, aren’t you?”

Buffy turned to Dawn, pulled out of her thoughts. “Yes, I really am. I have everything I could ever want.”

“I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you, Dawnie.” The two sisters weren’t as close as they used to be since moving to Cleveland. Dawn had opted to stay in the dorms when they’d moved here, not wanting to intrude on the new family. “I’m sorry we haven’t spent as much time together anymore.”

“It’s okay, Buffy. You needed this time with your new family.”

“You will always be my family too, Dawn. You know that, right?” Buffy asked, suddenly afraid that she didn’t.

“I know. It’s cool though. I like living here and living with the other girls. I know you’re within a walking distance if I need anything.”

Buffy pulled the younger girl into a tight hug. “Ok, so long as you know that. I love you Dawnie.”

“Love you, too. Now let me go so I can go dance with Kennedy.”

Buffy raises a brow. “Kennedy?” Buffy questions carefully, wondering if her sister was saying what she thought she was saying. The young Slayer was a bit of a brat Buffy thought, she knew the two girls were friends, but was it more?

“Yes, Kennedy, we’re friends and she wanted a dance.” That pacified Buffy’s interest, but she knew it was all she was getting. She watched her little sister walk over to Kennedy and pull her onto the dance floor, all the time thinking what they put in the water around the Hellmouths.

\--

Faith and Buffy walked into the hotel room and looked around the Honeymoon suite that Giles had given to them as a wedding present. Dawn had offered to look after Nevaeh for the weekend, with some help from some of the Slayers so that the newlyweds could have at least a little bit of a honeymoon.

“It’s so quiet,” Faith spoke, sitting on the bed, still looking around the room.

“I know,” Buffy agreed, sitting beside her new wife, taking her hand in her own. “But we might as well make the most of it while we can,” Buffy smirked, pulling the brunette into a deep kiss. They shed their clothes quickly, enjoying this uninterrupted time they had for the first time since they became lovers.

It was more than four hours before they were satisfied enough to just lie together in peace, trying to catch their breaths. Buffy was curled into Faith’s side, her hand lightly running over the young girl’s stomach, massaging the scar there from time to time.

“I’m so happy.”

Faith pressed a kiss into the blonde hair, “Me too, B. I love you.”

Buffy looked up into the intense eyes staring down at her. “I love you too, Faith. So much I could never tell you.”

Faith lightly ran her hands along Buffy’s arms, pulling her even closer if that was possible. “If someone would have told me we’d be here when we met, I would have called them crazy.”

“Me too. Hard to believe huh?”

“Yeah it really is. But I couldn’t imagine it any other way.”

“Me either,” Buffy agreed. Her life had changed the day a newborn had shown up on her doorstep. They both knew how hard life could be sometimes, but sometimes it could also give you the best surprises, even if they came in little packages. Little surprises that changed your life forever.

“I always thought girls who got pregnant as teenagers were idiots,” Faith admitted. “Ruined their lives, then it happened to me. At that point I’d already ruined my life by doing something even more stupid though. Suddenly it wasn’t such a bad thing, because I knew there were worse things.”

When Faith stopped, Buffy didn’t say anything, knowing that she wasn’t finished with whatever it was she felt she needed to get off her chest.

“And then, one day when I was heading to the mess hall to get lunch, a pain gripped me, and my water broke. I knew that was it, my time with her was running out. I didn’t even know the name of the doctor who delivered her. Prisoner’s don’t get things like a regular doctor, you get whoever is working when you get there. Ten hours of labor with four guards standing guard the whole time.

But then she slipped out and cried out for the first time, and I wanted to cry with her. Amazingly enough they let me hold her for a few minutes. Just until Angel got there to take her. After telling her how much I loved her, I handed her to him, not knowing if I’d ever see her again. A part of me died that day.”

Buffy unwrapped herself from Faith’s arms so that she could switch their positions, so that she was holding her lover. “Oh, Faith, I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“The first day you walked into the prison with her, it fixed the part that died. I was afraid to let it show, afraid you’d take her from me again, but when I saw her in that room with you, I wanted to jump for joy. You bringing her to me, meant more to me than I could ever say. It made me so open to loving you.”

Buffy smiled, placing a kiss into Faith’s hair, before laying her head to rest on top of Faith’s own. “Seeing you with her, it did the same for me.”

“I love so much that you gave me that chance to know her. But I wish I wouldn’t have missed so much of her life. I missed her entire babyhood.”

The older Slayer let those words fill her mind. There was something that had been on her mind since they had gotten engaged, well if she was truthful, since they got together. She didn’t want to scare Faith by bringing it up, but maybe it would be the perfect time to venture into the topic.

“Well, I have an idea. It won’t change all that, but maybe it’ll help you feel better about it.” Buffy paused, waiting until Faith was looking into her eyes so she knew she had her full attention. She took a deep breath. “I was thinking, maybe someday we could have another baby, give Nevaeh a brother or sister.”

“Another baby?” Faith whispered, letting the words roll around in her mind.

“I’m sure Willow could help us out, find a way to create a new spell to have a baby that’s just ours. If not we could always figure something else out, or even adopt. I just thought it was an idea to explore.”

The taller girl let her mind wander around the idea of having another child. At least if something happened to them both Nevaeh wouldn’t be alone, she’d never be fully alone with the family they’d created around them. But that wasn’t the same as having an immediate family she knew. Plus Nevaeh would have one child in her life she could freely be herself with, who might even be her equal.

“Another baby,” she said again, this time later. “Well since I had the last one, if you have the next one, then I’m game.” Faith smiled, kissing Buffy deeply. She couldn’t imagine a better life if she tried. She had found true happiness.

 


End file.
